Impact of urinary incontinence on healthcare resource utilization, health‐related quality of life and productivity in patients with overactive bladder

Abstract

Objective• To evaluate the impact of urinary incontinence (UI) on healthcare resource utilization (HRU), health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and productivity measures in patients with overactive bladder (OAB). Patients and Methods• This retrospective, cross-sectional study used data from the Adelphi OAB/UI Disease Specific Programme, a multinational survey of patient-and physician-reported data, fielded between November 2010 and February 2011.• The primary patient groups of interest were those with OAB, both with and without UI.• Health-related quality of life and productivity measures were derived from the EuroQoL-5D, the Incontinence Quality of Life questionnaire, the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire, and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire.• Measures of HRU included OAB-related surgeries, OAB-related hospitalizations, incontinence pads, anticholinergic use and physician visits.• Multivariate linear regression models and literature-based minimal clinically important differences were used to assess statistically significant and clinically meaningful differences in HRQoL and productivity measures between patients with OAB with UI and those without UI. Results• A total of 1 730 patients were identified, with a mean age of 60.7 years, and 77.0% of them were women, 84.2% were non-Hispanic whites, and 71% were incontinent.• Bivariate analyses showed that HRU was significantly higher among patients with OAB with UI than among those without UI in all categories except for the number of OAB-related physician visits.• In both bivariate and multivariate analyses, incontinent patients presented with clinically and statistically significantly lower HRQoL and productivity measures with respect to all study endpoints, except for percentage of work time missed due to their OAB/UI. Conclusions• Urinary incontinence was associated with significantly higher HRU and lower HRQoL and productivity in this population of patients with OAB from five different countries.• In addition to clinical considerations, the economic and humanistic impact of UI should be taken into account when evaluating treatment options for patients with OAB.

Assessment of treatment-seeking behavior and healthcare utilization in an international cohort of subjects with overactive bladder

“…Thus, the employment status is determined by UI severity rather than differences in the proportion of subjects who are !65 years of age across the UI categories. These results are in line with a recent retrospective cross-sectional study wherein 31.2% of incontinent OAB patients were employed 15 . A previous analysis of an age-matched group of patients with OAB showed higher rates of employment, with a total of 58.0% of patients with OAB (vs 66.5% without OAB) reporting full-time and part-time employment 5 .…”

Bladder Symptoms in the Early Menopausal Transition

“…1,2 Bladder symptoms, such as incontinence, urgency, or frequency, are commonly associated with a lower quality of life and increased use of healthcare resources. [3][4][5][6][7] Bladder symptoms may be due to age-related autonomic denervation, decreased bladder muscle tone, or increased bladder muscle fatigue. 8 Parity and medical conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, and depression, are associated with prevalence and incidence of bladder symptoms.…”

An overview of urinary incontinence

“…Urinary incontinence is more common in women than men, with prevalence increasing with age (Price and Currie, 2010). The impact of urinary incontinence on quality of life is well recognised (Tang et al 2014, Minassian et al, 2015. Many people do not seek help due to the embarrassing nature and social stigma attached (Berman, Berman and Felder, 2003).…”