Sleep Disturbance and Fatigue Are Associated With More Severe Urinary Incontinence and Overactive Bladder Symptoms

To investigate the relationship between sleep disturbance, fatigue, and urinary incontinence (UI) and overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms among patients with OAB.

Patients who were diagnosed with OAB and age-matched control subjects without OAB were enrolled. Sleep disturbance and fatigue symptoms were assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) short forms. UI and OAB symptoms were assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence (ICIQ-UI), the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB), the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q), the Urogenital Distress Inventory Short Form (UDI-6), and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form (IIQ-7). Psychosocial health (depression, anxiety, and perceived stress level) was also assessed.

Patients with OAB reported a significantly greater sleep disturbance compared with controls (PROMIS 8b T-scores: 54.3 ± 10.3 vs 43.8 ± 9.2). Patients with OAB also reported a significantly greater fatigue compared with controls (PROMIS 7a T-scores: 54.7 ± 9.6 vs 46.0 ± 6.4). After adjusting for nocturia, the differences in sleep disturbance between OAB and controls became insignificant (P = .21), whereas the differences in fatigue between OAB and controls remained significant (P = .014). Among patients with OAB, there were positive correlations between sleep disturbance and the severity of OAB symptoms (ICIQ-OAB), poorer health-related quality of life (OAB-q QOL), the severity of UI symptoms (ICIQ-UI), greater incontinence impact (IIQ-7), and urinary bother (UDI-6). Positive correlations were also observed between fatigue and worse UI and OAB symptoms and quality of life. Both sleep disturbance and fatigue were associated with poor psychosocial health (depression, anxiety, and higher stress level) among patients with OAB.

Sleep disturbance and fatigue are present in substantial percentages of patients with OAB. Among patients with OAB, sleep disturbance and fatigue were associated with more severe UI and OAB symptoms, worse health-related quality of life, and poorer psychosocial health.