Overactive Urinary Bladder in Women and Its Association with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Background: In the absence of a confirmed infection or other evident diseases, overactive bladder (OAB) is defined by symptoms of urgency, with or without urgency incontinence, and typically with urine frequency and nocturia.

Methods: This is an updated systematic review of studies on the prevalence, and treatment of overactive bladder and its correlation to irritable bowel syndrome between 2013 and 2022. The PubMed and Google scholar databases were used to explore studies regarding our subject.

Results: Though 110 articles were obtained, only nine met the inclusion criteria. The studies included OAB patients. Three studies were cross-sectional, two studies were retrospective cohort studies, two clinical trials, one survey study while one was an observational study.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of overactive bladder symptoms among Middle Eastern women. The prevalence was higher in Hispanic women. However, no racial differences were reported as a risk factor for OAB. In mothers, the number of children was a significant risk factor for either urgency or nocturia. Trans-abdominal bladder ultrasonography (TABU) was recognized as a primary method for OAB diagnosing.