Women With Overactive Bladder Exhibit More Unhealthy Toileting Behaviors: A Cross-sectional Study

To determine whether women overactive bladder symptoms would report more frequent unhealthy toileting behaviors.

A community-based sample of adult women was electronically recruited to complete the Toileting Behavior Scale and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Overactive Bladder module, as well as clinical and demographic questionnaires. The associations between overactive bladder and toileting behavior subscales were assessed as continuous variables using Spearman's rank correlation and as dichotomous variables with multivariable logistic regression.

Of the 6562 adult women included in the analytic sample, 1059 (16.1%) were classified as having overactive bladder. Of the toileting behavior subscales, convenience voiding had the highest, positive association with overactive bladder score (r = 0.301, P < .0001). On multivariable logistic regression, women with overactive bladder (OAB) were more likely to report behaviors of convenience voiding (odds ratio [OR] 1.13, confidence intervals [CI] 1.11-1.15), delayed voiding (OR 1.05, CI 1.02-1.08), straining to void (OR 1.05, CI 1.03-1.07), and position preference (OR 1.13, CI 1.08-1.18).

OAB symptoms were associated with specific toileting behaviors of convenience voiding, delayed voiding, straining to void, and position preference. Further investigation is needed to determine if toileting behaviors are a risk factor for OAB or a compensatory adaptation to mitigate symptoms.