Seasonal variations in overactive bladder drug prescription rates in women: a nationwide population-based study.

PURPOSE: Colder seasons can aggravate lower urinary tract symptoms, especially an overactive bladder (OAB). This aspect has been extensively studied in men and rarely in women. We investigated whether colder seasons influence OAB-drug prescription rates (OAB-DPRs) in women. METHODS: Women aged > 18 years were selected from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample data between 2012 and 2016. OAB-DPR was calculated according to age and seasonal groups. The prescription rates in summer (June, July, and August) and winter (January, February, and December) months were compared. Sub-analysis was performed according to age group. RESULTS: In total, 3,061,343 adult women were included. The overall OAB-DPR was 3.75% (114,940/3,061,343). Overall OAB-DPRs in summer and winter were 1.41% (43,090/3,061,343) and 1.54% (47,038/3,061,343), respectively (p < 0.001). Seasonal variations in OAB-DPRs differed by age group (p < 0.001): OAB-DPRs were significantly lower in winter than in summer months in women aged < 50 years (odds ratio 0.942; 95% confidence interval 0.918-0.967; p < 0.001), but significantly higher in winter than in summer months in women aged ≥ 50 years (odds ratio 1.153; 95% confidence interval 1.135-1.171; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, a correlation was noted between OAB-DPR and seasons. OAB-DPRs were higher in the summer in women aged < 50 years and higher in the winter in women aged ≥ 50 years. Our findings suggest that female hormonal status may be involved in the contradictory effect of seasons on OAB symptoms.

Seasonal Variation of Drug Prescription Rate for Overactive Bladder in Men Based on National Health Insurance Claims Data, 2012-2016.

PURPOSE: Overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms might be affected by weather, but only a few clinical studies have investigated this issue. We investigated seasonal variations in OAB-drug prescription rate (DPR) in men using nationwide claims data in Korea. METHODS: A total of 2,824,140 men aged over 18 years were included from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment service - National Patient Sample data between 2012 and 2016. Depending on the monthly average temperature, the seasons were divided into 3 groups, namely, hot (June, July, August, and September), intermediate (April, May, October, and November), and cold (January, February, March, and December) seasons. OAB-DPR was estimated using the claims data, and differences in its rate were examined among the 3 seasonal groups. RESULTS: The overall OAB-DPR was 1.97% (55,574 of 2,824,140). The OAB-DPR were 0.38%, 0.63%, 0.92%, 1.74%, 4.18%, 7.55%, and 9.69% in the age groups of under 30, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and over 80 years, respectively; thus, the prescription rate increased with age (P<0.001), with a steeper increase after 60 years of age. OAB-DPR was 1.02% in the hot season, 1.19% in the intermediate season, and 1.27% in the cold season, with significant differences among the 3 seasonal groups (P<0.001). These seasonal variations persisted in the subgroup analysis in each age decade (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: OAB-DPR varied with seasons and was significantly higher in the cold season than in the hot season, suggesting that cold weather may affect development and aggravation of OAB symptoms in men.

Salinity tolerance of japonica and indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) at the seedling stage.

In order to identify the degree of salinity tolerance of the indica and japonica rice groups, 10 varieties were tested under saline and non-saline conditions. Twelve-day-old seedlings were grown in normal culture solution, then initially salinized at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 6 dS/m for 4 days, and finally salinized at an EC of 12 dS/m for the next 14 days. The growth parameters, and Na and K absorption in the shoot were measured to characterize the tolerance level of the two rice groups. Reduction in all growth parameters of tolerant varieties was significantly lower in indica varieties than in japonica varieties. Tolerant indica varieties were good Na excluders, absorbed high amounts of K, and maintained a low Na/K ratio in the shoot. Tolerant japonica varieties also absorbed less Na but were not as good excluders as indica varieties. Shoot K concentration alone did not show any relationship to salinity tolerance. These results indicate that, for all parameters measured, the tolerance level of indica was higher than that of japonica.