Fluids affecting bladder urgency and lower urinary symptoms: results from a randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Clinical Nutrition

Background:

• Overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms are often linked to consuming certain beverages.
• Previous studies on beverage irritancy and OAB lack control for fluid intake volume.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that reducing intake of potentially irritating beverages (caffeinated, alcoholic, artificially sweetened, carbonated, acidic) decreases voiding frequency in women with OAB.
• To compare voiding frequency between women reducing "irritating" beverages and those receiving general healthy eating advice.

Main Methods:

• A parallel-group randomized controlled trial was conducted with 105 women diagnosed with OAB.
• Participants were randomized to either reduce specific beverages or receive general healthy eating advice for 6 weeks.
• The primary outcome measured was average daily void frequency using a 3-day diary.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in average daily void frequency was observed between the two groups at 2 and 6 weeks.
• The estimated difference in void frequency was -0.46 voids at 2 weeks and -0.31 voids at 6 weeks (p > 0.05).
• The null hypothesis was not rejected, indicating beverage modification alone did not impact voiding frequency.

Conclusions:

• Reducing intake of potentially irritating beverages, while maintaining total fluid volume, does not predict a decrease in voiding frequency for women with OAB.
• Further research is recommended to investigate the specific impact of beverage type and volume on OAB symptoms.