Nocturia and obesity: a population-based study in Finland

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Nocturia, or frequent nighttime urination, affects a significant portion of the adult population.
• The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and nocturia requires further investigation to understand its public health implications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between overweight and obesity and the prevalence of nocturia in a Finnish adult population.
• To quantify the attributable fraction of increased BMI for nocturia.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 6,000 randomly selected Finnish adults aged 18-79 years.
• Nocturia assessment using validated questionnaires (Danish Prostatic Symptom Score, American Urological Association Symptom Index).
• Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated from self-reported height and weight, categorizing participants as nonoverweight, overweight, or obese.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of nocturia increased with higher BMI categories in both men and women.
• Obese men had a 48.2% prevalence of nocturia, compared to 33.4% in nonoverweight men.
• Obese women had a 53.6% prevalence of nocturia, compared to 37.2% in nonoverweight women.
• Increased BMI accounted for 17.7% of nocturia cases in men and 18.5% in women.

Conclusions:

• Obesity is significantly associated with an increased risk of nocturia.
• The association between obesity and nocturia is more pronounced in women than in men.
• Elevated BMI is a considerable contributing factor to the population's nocturia burden.