Association of overactive bladder with red cell distribution width to albumin ratio in American

Overactive bladder (OAB) significantly affects places a considerable economic strain and individuals' quality of life on global healthcare resources.The ratio of red cell distribution width to albumin (RAR) is a novel inflammatory marker, yet its association with the prevalence of OAB among adults in the U.S. remains unclear. This nationally representative cross-sectional study utilized data derived from the 2005-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), focusing primarily on individuals aged 20 and older with complete information on red cell distribution width (RDW) and albumin. Subgroup analyses, multivariate logistic regression, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were employed to investigate the association of the risk of OAB and the levels of RAR. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the predictive performance of RAR levels for OAB.An overall of 26,987 participants aged over 20 years were included in the analysis, of whom 4,943 were diagnosed with OAB. Both before and after adjusting for potential confounders, the results consistently indicated a significant positive correlation of RAR with the risk of OAB. Using the first quartile (Q1) of RAR as the reference, people in the highest quartile (Q4) had a 41% increased risk of OAB relative to those in Q1 after adjusting for all covariates. The RCS curve revealed a nonlinear relationship between RAR and OAB. Furthermore, interaction tests and subgroup analyses indicated that age modified the positive correlation between OAB and RAR. ROC curve analysis revealed that the cutoff value for predicting OAB with RAR was 3.07 (specificity: 57.70%, sensitivity: 64.64%, AUC: 0.649).In U.S. adults, elevated levels of RAR are related to an increased risk of OAB. RAR levels may serve as a potential marker for the development of OAB.