Association of insulin resistance with overactive bladder in female patients.
OBJECTIVE
Metabolic syndrome and obesity have been advocated to be risk factors for the development of overactive bladder (OAB). Additionally, insulin resistance is the underlying mechanism of metabolic syndrome. We aimed to investigate the association of insulin resistance with overactive bladder in female patients.


METHODS
We prospectively conducted the study in our urology department. Female patients aged between 30 and 76 years old applied to our policlinics with or without OAB symptoms were enrolled. One hundred and twenty-two patients with OAB and 62 age-matched controls without OAB were included into the study. Fasting serum insulin, glucose, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), and triglycerides levels were measured. Insulin resistance value was obtained via the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) calculator. The chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare differences in variables.


RESULTS
Serum insulin level was found higher in female patients with OAB (11.5±6.2 µU/mL) relative to controls (6.4±2.1 µU/mL), statistically significant (P=0.036). In addition, HOMA-IR was significantly found higher in the OAB group, 2.86 (0.76 to 17.04) in comparison to controls, 1.32 (0.67 to 224), P=0.018. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (HDL-c) were significantly found lower in females with OAB.


CONCLUSIONS
Insulin resistance can be associated to overactive bladder and may play significant role in pathogenesis.
Department of Urology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University School of Medicine, Rize, Turkey.
Hakki
H
Uzun
Adnan
A
Yilmaz
Ahu
A
Kemik
Orhan Unal
OU
Zorba
Mehmet
M
Kalkan
Insulin resistance; Metabolic syndrome; Overactive urinary bladder