Are Bladder-Related Knowledge and Agentic Beliefs Associated With Bladder Health?

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) affect a significant portion of the population.
• Understanding factors influencing bladder health is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.
• Bladder-related knowledge and agentic beliefs are potential modifiable factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between bladder knowledge and agentic beliefs with bladder health status.
• To identify key psychological factors that may influence bladder health outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of participants in the RISE FOR HEALTH study.
• Assessment of bladder knowledge and beliefs using the Bladder Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs instrument (BH-KAB).
• Evaluation of bladder health using the Global scale of the Bladder Health Scales (BHS), Total Bladder Function Index (BFI), and Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network Symptom Index-10 (LURN SI-10).
• Linear regression was used to assess associations.

Main Results:

• A 10-point increase in agency score was associated with a 2.4-point higher Global BHS score and a 1.4-point higher BFI score, indicating better bladder health.
• Increased agency was linked to a decrease of 0.5 points in the LURN SI-10 score, signifying fewer lower urinary tract symptoms.
• Bladder-related knowledge showed weak associations with Global BHS and BFI.

Conclusions:

• Agentic beliefs demonstrated a stronger association with bladder health and function compared to bladder knowledge.
• Findings suggest that enhancing agentic beliefs may be a promising target for interventions aimed at promoting bladder health.
• Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm if increased agentic beliefs can prevent or improve LUTS.