Overactive bladder in postmenopause: Prediction and early diagnosis

Objective. To reveal the prevalence, pattern, and risk factors of the symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) in postmenopausal women and to optimize diagnostic criteria. Subject and methods. The investigation included 503 women aged 45-70 years (mean age, 56.5±7.4 years) who had a postmenopausal duration of over 1 year (mean, 6.3±7.4 years). They were interviewed using a designed questionnaire to reveal the prevalence of symptoms of urination problems and to assess risk factors. Detailed clinical and laboratory examination was made in 70 women with symptoms of OAB; special methods encompassed complex urodynamic study (CUDS), assessment of the degree of vulvovaginal atrophy, ultrasound estimation of bladder and detrusor wall thickness. Results. Risk factors for urination problems were identified in the postmenopausal women. The latter were found to have more frequently pollakiuria and nocturia among the symptoms of OAB. All the patients in the study group had varying degrees of vulvovaginal atrophy, as well as a change in the major quantitative and qualitative CUDS measurements. Bladder ultrasonography established increases in bladder and detrusor wall thickness in the women with OAB. Conclusion. The findings confirm the relationship of the pathogenetic mechanisms of urinary and vulvovaginal disorders in postmenopausal women and may suggest the diagnostic value of ultrasonography in patients with symptoms of OAB.

overactive bladder