Vulvar lichen sclerosus in women is associated with lower urinary tract symptoms

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is thought to be primarily a disease of postmenopausal women. Little is reported about lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in association with LS. The aims of this study were to evaluate the odds of having LS-associated LUTS and to identify the predominant type of LS-associated bladder dysfunction.

This was a cross-sectional study with two cohorts investigating the association between LS and LUTS and the predominant type of LS-associated bladder dysfunction.

The odds of LUTS in women with LS were more than four times higher than in women without LS (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.6-8.0; p < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of LUTS between women who experienced the first LS symptoms before and after the age of 50 years (36% and 53%, respectively, p = 0.14), or in the occurrence of the different types of LUTS between women with and without LS (p = 0.3). The most common type of LUTS was overactive bladder (OAB) in both women with LS (67.3%) and without LS (60%). The most prevalent type of LS-associated LUTS was OAB.

The odds of developing LUTS (self-reported) are four times higher in women with LS than in those without. The predominant type of LUTS in women with and without LS is OAB.