Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Croatian Obese Patients.

BACKGROUND

Patients with obesity may experience lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Little is known about these symptoms in obese patients in Croatia. The aim of this study was to asses LUTS in this group of patients.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary healthcare centre. 111 participants were included (81 women and 30 men, age 23-78 years), with BMI>30 kg/m. LUTS were evaluated using International consultation on incontinence questionnaires (ICIQ) investigating symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) and urinary incontinence (UI): ICIQ-OAB and ICIQ-UI Short Form (SF). We evaluated also some of the questions on the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire.

RESULTS

On ICIQ-OAB patients most often reported:UI (46.85% (N=52)), nocturia (42.34% (N=47)) and increased frequency of urination (34.23% (N=38)), and on ICIQ-UI SF: UI when coughing and sneezing (44.44% (N=32)), urgency UI (43.06% (N=31)) and UI during exercise/physical activity (22.22% (N=16)). Women were found to be more significantly affected by OAB symptoms (p<0.05). Significant correlations were found between the overall results on ICIQ-OAB and hypertension (r=0.32).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study confirm that obese patients in Croatia experience LUTS as well. A higher incidence of LUTS was found among women and gender-independent among hypertensive obese patients.