Bladder symptoms assessed with overactive bladder questionnaire in Parkinson's disease

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Urology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) frequently causes urinary dysfunction, primarily overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms.
• The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q) assesses OAB's impact on quality of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify urinary symptoms in a large Parkinson's disease cohort using the OAB-q short form.
• To explore correlations between OAB-q scores and clinical features of PD.

Main Methods:

• 302 PD patients and 303 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled.
• The OAB-q short form was administered to assess urinary symptoms.
• Correlations with age, sex, disease duration, UPDRS-III, and H-Y staging were analyzed.

Main Results:

• PD patients scored significantly higher on the OAB-q than healthy subjects.
• OAB-q scores correlated significantly with age, disease duration, UPDRS-III, and H-Y staging.
• OAB-q scores were influenced by age and UPDRS-III, but not by drug therapy, except for nocturia items linked to levodopa dose.

Conclusions:

• Bladder dysfunction in PD, measured by OAB-q, correlates with motor impairment severity (UPDRS-III) and patient age.
• These findings suggest a link between nigrostriatal dopaminergic decline and bladder issues in PD.
• The OAB-q is a valuable tool for objectively assessing bladder function in PD patients.