Overactive bladder symptom bother and health-related quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and primary Sjögren syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to assess overactive bladder (OAB) symptom bother (SB) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS). METHODS: We recruited adult SLE and pSS patients and two groups of age- and sex-matched controls. We applied the OAB questionnaire-short form (OABq-SF) to all participants to assess SB and HRQL and collected clinical information relevant for OAB. We compared the OABq-SF scores for SB and HRQL between patients and controls using univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis. RESULTS: We recruited 95 rheumatic patients (68 SLE, 27 pSS) and 231 controls. Compared to controls SLE patients showed higher OABq-SF SB scores (22.6 ± 20.4 vs 14.7 ± 17.0, p = 0.004) and lower HRQL scores (89.8 ± 15.8 vs 93.8 ± 11.4, p = 0.044). On multivariate analysis SLE was significantly associated with a higher SB score (ß-coefficient 7.13, p = 0.008) and tended to be associated with worse HRQL values (ß-coefficient -3.53, p = 0.055). Patients with pSS had numerically higher mean SB scores (22.8 ± 22.5 vs 16.2 ± 18.0, respectively, p = 0.107) and lower HRQL scores (91.0 ± 10.7 vs 93.2 ± 11.6, respectively, p = 0.369), although these differences were not statistically significant. Diagnosis of pSS was not significantly associated with SB or HRQL scores on univariate or multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with SLE have significantly worse OAB-SB and poorer HRQL compared to controls. A similar trend was seen for pSS patients, especially for SB. These findings suggest that clinically subtle OAB symptoms may be present in rheumatic patients for whom, later on, bladder pain syndrome may occur.

Impact of Age, Education Level and Occupation on the Ability to Use the ICIQ-bladder Diary: Results From A Community Cohort Study Using a Predefined Clinical History.

OBJECTIVE: To assess difficulties in filling the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Bladder Diary (ICIQ-BD), determining the most troublesome items and patients' characteristics (age, education level, and professional activity) related to these difficulties. METHODS: A text composed of a clinical history of a fictitious patient with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) was designed. 95 healthy volunteers (49 females, 46 males, mean age 45.6 ± 17.3 years) were asked to fill in the ICIQ-BD according to the data from the fictitious clinical history. Filling errors were analyzed, and patients' demographic characteristics tested as predictors. RESULTS: Bladder Sensation Score is the most problematic item of the ICIQ-BD, with only 38% of patients accurately filling this item. No association was found between total number of errors and age or education level, but participants working in less specialized professions had more difficulty in filling the BD (mean: 7.00 vs 3.94 errors, P= .002). CONCLUSION: ICIQ-BD is a reliable tool to assess for LUTS, but filling the Bladder Sensation Score item was more likely to be incorrectly filled by manual workers and volunteers with less intellectually demanding current professions.