The Association between Obesity and Wet Overactive Bladder: Results from 2005 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition...

Introduction: The association between obesity and wet overactive bladder (wet OAB) was few and was also inconsistent and controversial in sex differences. This study aimed to ascertain the specific association between obesity and wet OAB for females and males using five obesity measures.

This cross-sectional study included 29,041 participants from the 2005-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. The outcome was the risk of wet OAB. Five obesity measures were exposure using quintile, including body mass index (BMI), waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), body fat percentage (BFP), fat mass, and lean mass. The associations were elucidated using weighted logistic regression models and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis.

The elevated BMI, WSR, BFP, and fat mass were positively associated with the risk of wet OAB in both sexes, which was evident in females. Interestingly, lean mass was adversely associated with the risk of wet OAB in both sexes. In RCS analysis about BMI, WSR, BFP, and fat mass, monotonically increasing nonlinear associations were found in males, while positive linear associations were found in females. Besides, negative linear and nonlinear relationships were shown between lean mass and the risk of wet OAB in females and males, respectively.

Obesity was positively associated with the risk of wet OAB in both sexes. Controlling BMI, WSR, BFP, fat mass, and strengthening lean mass may help prevent the development of wet OAB.