[Demographic distribution and prevalence of overactive bladder in Venezuela].
OBJECTIVE
There is a lack of information regarding overactive bladder (OAB) in South America. Our aim in this study was to estimate the prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) in Venezuela based on the 2002 International Continence Society (ICS) consensus criteria and also to verify its demographic distribution in this country.


METHODS
We performed a multicentric prospective evaluation of patients from 2003 to 2007 in different cities in Venezuela. A number 3.407 adults (M:38%, F:62%) between 18 and 75 years of age (mean age 54 years) completed a physician guided questionnaire (V8) of urinary symptoms, bladder function, diet, general habits and general medical condition. Statistical procedures were carried out using software based on R programming for computational statistics.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of OAB in Venezuela was determined as 21%. Female were more affected as compared to male (25.6% vs. 13.7% in men, p < 0.005) OAB was detected at early age (18 yrs) maintaining higher prevalence in women (M: 9%, F: 14%). In the studied cohort OAB shows its highest prevalence between the subgroup of 65 to 69 years of age. In all statistical tests the level of significance was defined as p < 0.005, with a confidence interval of 95%.


CONCLUSIONS
The OAB-V8 questionnaire aids to clearly identify patients with OAB symptoms. The overall prevalence of OAB in Venezuela is 21%. It is present in both genders, predominantly women and can be detected at early age.
Dávila
H A
HA
Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela. hugoalbertodav@gmail.com
López
V
V
Nieves
L
L
Colantuono
A
A
Guaiquirián
L
L
Sánchez
P
P
Kaufman
A
A
Acosta
F
F
Mack
S
S
Marcano
N
N
Martínez
C
C
Toro
J
J
Moreira
O
O
Hernández
M
M
Kanski
A
A
Delgado
J
J
Sánchez-Salas
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D053201:Urinary Bladder, Overactive / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014687:Venezuela / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult