Association between cardiometabolic index and overactive bladder in adults: Evidence from the National Health and...

The cardiometabolic index (CMI) is a marker currently used to evaluate metabolism. Although the association between overactive bladder (OAB) and obesity has been evaluated in previous studies, the role of the CMI in adult OAB remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between the CMI and OAB in a representative nationwide population.

This cross-sectional study used the 2011-2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. The CMI was calculated by multiplying the ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and that of waist circumference to height. We used the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score to define OAB. Participants with an Overactive Bladder Symptom Score of ≥3 were considered as having OAB. Smoothed curve fitting and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between the CMI and OAB in adults. Consistency of these results was examined across various population subgroups.

The OAB group included 1549 (21%) individuals. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) were observed between the OAB group and the non-OAB group for all variables. After correcting for potential confounders, we discovered a strong positive association between the CMI and the risk of OAB. For every one-unit increase in CMI, the likelihood of OAB increased by 54%. Subgroup analysis of the association between the CMI and the odds of OAB showed that there were no significant interaction effects within most subgroups. However, the association may be altered by the presence of certain diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (p=0.022) and diabetes (p=0.023).

A higher CMI correlated with a higher risk of OAB development. However, the causal relationship requires further verification.