Is coronavirus disease 2019 associated with indicators of long-term bladder dysfunction?

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Early reports suggested coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may cause urinary issues such as frequency and nocturia.
• These symptoms were anecdotally linked to urinary inflammation markers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if COVID-19 infection is associated with an increased incidence of chronic urinary symptoms.
• To evaluate surrogate markers of bladder dysfunction following COVID-19.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study was conducted using routinely collected data from Ontario, Canada.
• Patients aged 66+ with a positive COVID-19 test (Feb-May 2020) were matched to controls without COVID-19.
• Outcomes measured included urology consultation, cystoscopy, and new overactive bladder medication prescriptions within 3 months post-infection.

Main Results:

• 5,617 COVID-19 patients were matched with 11,225 controls.
• No significant increase in new overactive bladder medications (HR: 1.04), urology consultations (HR: 1.40), or cystoscopies (HR: 1.14) was observed in the COVID-19 group.
• Hypertension and diabetes were more prevalent in the COVID-19 cohort.

Conclusions:

• The study found no significant increase in surrogate markers of bladder dysfunction 2-5 months after COVID-19 infection in older adults.
• These findings suggest COVID-19 may not be a primary driver of new chronic urinary symptoms in this population.