Firstmed Blog

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND — December 1, 2006 — Erectile dysfunction (ED) is almost twice as common in men with symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) as it is in men without OAB, according to data released here at the 36th Annual Meeting of the International Continence Society (ICS).

In addition, the study showed that men with OAB were just as likely to develop ED as men with diabetes or hypertension, reported Debra E. Irwin, MSPH, PhD, professor of epidemiology, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Dr. Irwin and colleagues examined the relationship between OAB symptoms and ED in men 50 years of age or older who were enrolled in the ongoing EPIC study, the first multinational, cross-sectional, population-based evaluation of the prevalence and burden of OAB in adults.

For the present analysis, 502 men 50 years of age or older from Sweden, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada who had OAB symptoms and a random group of 502 matched controls without OAB symptoms participated in telephone interviews.

The presence of overactive bladder and urinary incontinence (UI) was established based on 2002 ICS definitions, and ED was measured using a single question from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study.

Respondents were asked to rate the degree to which urinary symptoms caused them to decrease or cease sexual activity, reduced their sexual satisfaction, and decreased their sexual enjoyment.

Respondents were also asked to describe their history of physician-diagnosed chronic health conditions.

Overall, 30.9% of OAB cases had urinary incontinence, and 69.1% were continent.

Among study participants who reported being sexually active over the 12 months prior to enrolment, 34.7% of the OAB group reported having ED compared with 20.0% of controls, which translates into a prevalence odds ratio of 2.1 compared with an 2.5 odds ratio among men with diabetes and 1.7 in men with hypertension.

The data also revealed that OAB was associated with a decrease in sexual activity whether or not urinary incontinence was present or absent. Thus, 45.4% of men with OAB with urinary incontinence said they were sexually active in the prior 12 months versus 63.3% of controls (P less than or equal to .05). Also, 57.8% of men with OAB but without urinary incontinence reported a decrease in sexual activity over the past 12 months, (P less than or equal to .05 vs controls).

Finally, OAB was associated with decreased sexual enjoyment and satisfaction.

In her presentation on December 1st, Dr. Irwin said the trial is the first multinational, population-based study to evaluate relationships between OAB, ED, and patient-reported sexual outcomes using 2002 ICS definitions.

She added that future studies should assess whether the effects of overactive bladder and erectile dysfunction on health-related quality of life are additive in men affected by both conditions.

Source: Docguide