Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan 2;16(1):1.
doi: 10.1186/s12955-017-0829-z.

Overactive bladder symptom severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes: a path analysis

Dongjuan Xu  1   2 , Meng Zhao  1 , Liqun Huang  1 , Kefang Wang  3
Affiliations

Overactive bladder symptom severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes: a path analysis

Dongjuan Xu et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the relationships among overactive bladder (OAB) symptom severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A total of 127 diabetic patients, aged at least 18 years, with overactive bladder from a hospital in Shandong Province, China, were recruited for this study. Symptom severity, bother, and quality of life were assessed using the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC), and Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q SF), respectively. Help-seeking behavior was assessed by asking patients whether they consulted health care professionals or received treatment for their bladder problems. A two-step path analysis was performed to analyze the data.

Results: OAB symptom severity was directly associated with lower levels of QOL, and the strength of this association was no longer significant when taking bother and help-seeking behavior into account. Bother increased with OAB symptom severity, and patients with bothersome OAB tended to have lower levels of QOL. Moreover, bother increased help-seeking behavior; however, patients who sought help tended to have lower levels of QOL.

Conclusions: Our findings highlight the role of bother and help-seeking behavior in the relationship between OAB symptom severity and QOL. To improve a patient's QOL, health care providers should focus not only on symptom bother but also on dysfunctional help-seeking patterns.

Keywords: Bother; Help-seeking behavior; Overactive bladder; Quality of life; Symptom severity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Shandong University. All patients provided informed consent before the survey.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Path diagram of the relationships among OAB severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and QOL. Path coefficients with standard errors in parentheses are shown along the path arrows. The path analysis was adjusted for age, sex, years of education, marital status, living area, income, body mass index, urinary tract infection history, Charlson Comorbidity Index, duration of diabetes, and diabetes treatment (insulin or anti-diabetic medication) *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Haylen BT, de Ridder D, Freeman RM, Swift SE, Berghmans B, Lee J, et al. An international Urogynecological association (IUGA)/international continence society (ICS) joint report on the terminology for female pelvic floor dysfunction. Neurourol Urodyn. 2010;29:4–20. - PubMed
    1. Irwin DE, Kopp ZS, Agatep B, Milsom I, Abrams P. Worldwide prevalence estimates of lower urinary tract symptoms, overactive bladder, urinary incontinence and bladder outlet obstruction. BJU Int. 2011;108:1132–1138. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2010.09993.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chuang YC, Liu SP, Lee KS, Liao L, Wang J, Yoo TK, et al. Prevalence of overactive bladder in China, Taiwan and South Korea: results from a cross-sectional, population-based study. Low Urin Tract Symptoms. 2017; 10.1111/luts.12193. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ganz ML, Smalarz AM, Krupski TL, Anger JT, JC H, Wittrup-Jensen KU, et al. Economic costs of overactive bladder in the United States. Urology. 2010;75:526–532. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2009.06.096. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Irwin DE, Mungapen L, Milsom I, Kopp Z, Reeves P, Kelleher C. The economic impact of overactive bladder syndrome in six western countries. BJU Int. 2009;103:202–209. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2008.08036.x. - DOI - PubMed