The Burden of Untreated Patients Experiencing Symptoms of Overactive Bladder

 The linear regressions on the three components of HRQoL measured by the SF-36v2 (MCS, PCS, and Health Utility) confirm that the presence of OAB symptoms has a significant negative impact on all three components (p<0.01); see Figure 1a.  After controlling for all other variables, all sociodemographics contribute to this difference, including country of residence, with Germany having the highest MCS and Italy having both the highest PCS and lowest Health Utility.  The Breusch-Pagan test of independence attests that the three outcome measures are significantly correlated (chi(3)=56,458.87, p < 0.001). Correlations are weak among MCS and PCS (rs=0.15) and stronger between Health Utility and MCS (rs=0.72) or PCS (rs=0.63).  Overactive bladder (OAB) is a urologic syndrome characterized by urinary urgency, with or without urge incontinence, usually in combination with frequent urination and nocturia.  Symptoms: – Urgency: Sudden, compelling desire to pass urine that is difficult to defer. – Frequency: Urinating more than eight times in a day. – Urge incontinence: Involuntary loss of urine occurring for no apparent reason while feeling urinary urgency. – Nocturia: Interrupted sleep because of an urge to void twice or more a night.  The reluctance of those with OAB to seek medical advice can leave a considerable part of the population untreated, with significant personal and societal costs. BACKGROUND