BJU international
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Multicenter Study
Understanding the elements of overactive bladder: questions raised by the EPIC study.
To compare the prevalence of frequency and nocturia and the bother they impose in a population-based sample of men and women using current International Continence Society (ICS) definitions of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and commonly used alternative definitions of these LUTS to emphasize the importance of standardizing the definitions when evaluating overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome; we also describe the spectrum of LUTS and bother they impose in this population with OAB. ⋯ The ICS definitions for daytime frequency as 'the subject's perception of urinating too often' and for nocturia as 'one or more episodes per night' adequately described bladder symptoms within the OAB population when assessed by the level of symptom bother. Urgency was uncommon in isolation and did not alone impose as high a level of bother as when combined with other LUTS. In this population, the most predominant manifestation of OAB was a combination of urgency with one or more other OAB symptoms. Symptom bother became more common as the number of symptoms reported increased. LUTS other than the defining symptoms of OAB were also highly prevalent within the OAB population.