Female Functional Constipation Is Associated with Overactive Bladder Symptoms and Urinary Incontinence

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Gastroenterology
• Women's Health

Background:

• Functional constipation (FC) and overactive bladder (OAB) are common conditions affecting women.
• The relationship between FC and urinary symptoms, particularly OAB, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the association between functional constipation and urinary symptoms in female patients.
• To determine if OAB symptoms are linked to FC and vice versa.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 145 female patients without prior treatment for urination or defecation issues.
• Utilized Rome III criteria for constipation assessment and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) for urinary symptoms.
• Defined latent FC and moderate to severe OAB based on established criteria.

Main Results:

• Patients with latent FC showed higher OABSS scores and increased prevalence of moderate to severe OAB symptoms and OAB with urinary incontinence compared to those without latent FC.
• Multivariate analysis revealed moderate to severe OAB symptoms as a significant factor associated with latent FC.
• Latent FC was identified as the sole associated factor for moderate to severe OAB and OAB with urinary incontinence.

Conclusions:

• Moderate to severe OAB symptoms are significantly correlated with functional constipation in women.
• Functional constipation is a related factor for moderate to severe OAB symptoms and OAB with urinary incontinence.