Urinary Microbiota in Female Patients With Dry and Wet Overactive Bladder (OAB)

This study is aimed at comparing the urinary microbiota between OAB patients and healthy controls and at assessing whether urinary incontinence status affects the urinary microbiota in OAB patients.

From April 2021 to October 2022, female patients admitted to our hospital in Beijing with an Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) greater than 3 were selected. Healthy female individuals were chosen as the control group. Urine specimens were collected and subjected to 16S rRNA sequencing. The data obtained were analyzed using bioinformatics techniques.

The average age, OABSS score, and alpha diversity index in the OAB group were significantly higher than those in the control group. At the genus level, the most abundant genus in the OABWet group was Gardnerella (19.69%), and the most abundant genus in the OABDry group was Lactobacillus (12.26%). In the control group, the most abundant genus was also Lactobacillus (19.90%). The OABWet group had significantly higher relative abundances of Gardnerella and Ciliophora compared to the OABDry group, and Ciliophora was more abundant in the control group. Veillonella was less abundant in the OABDry group, while Prevotella and Pseudomonas were less abundant in the control group. Gardnerella was also less abundant in the OABDry group than in the control group.

The urinary microbiota of female OAB patients showed lower species richness and lacked dominant bacterial communities compared to the healthy control group. In wet-type OAB patients, there was not only a decreased abundance of Lactobacillus but also a high abundance of Gardnerella in the urine.