Increased Overactive Bladder Symptoms in Primary Sjogren’s Syndrome

Background: Urinary system involvement is a well-known extraglandular manifestation in primary Sjogren ’ s syndrome (pSS). The term “ Overactive Bladder ” (OAB) is used to define the symptom complex of urinary urgency, generally accompanied by nocturia, with or without urinary incontinence, in the absence of urinary tract infection or other obvious pathologies. In our study, the frequency of OAB was investigated in patients with pSS and compared with the frequency observed in normal healthy controls (NHC). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 50 patients with pSS and 44 NHC were included. For all the participants, the forms of OAB-Validated 8-question Awareness Tool (OAB-V8) and 3-day voiding diary were completed. The diagnosis of OAB was made in the presence of OAB-V8 scores higher than 8. The 3-day means of the parameters in the voiding diary form were calculated and recorded. Results: The rate of OAB was found to be 56% in patients with pSS, while it was 22.7% in the NHC group. Comparing the pSS patients with the NHC group, significant differences were observed in terms of mean OAB-V8 score (11.5 ± 8.8 ; 6.5 ± 5.3 P < 0.05), daytime frequency (8.4 ± 3.7; 3.6 ± 2.6 P < 0.05) and nocturia (2.2 ± 1.24; 1.2 ± 1.1 P < 0.05). No incontinence was observed in any patients. Conclusion: OAB was encountered more frequently in pSS patients than in the NHC group. Since OAB is a treatable symptom complex, it should not be ignored, and symptoms of OAB should always be searched in pSS patients. doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/wjnu85w