Increased Risk for Overactive Bladder With Idiopathic Parkinson Disease

Idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD) is characterized by typical motor impairment, yet lower urinary tract symptoms including urinary urgency or frequency—which are non-motor phenomena—occur frequently among these patients. Researchers of the present study assessed the risk of overactive bladder (OAB) in patients with IPD.

Investigators Fu-Yu Lin, MD, China Medical University School of Medicine (Taichung, Taiwan), and colleagues used the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to identify patients with IPD and control patients from 2000 to 2010. The non-IPD cohort was matched according to age, sex, and baseline comorbidities (ie, benign prostate hyperplasia, stress incontinence, diabetes, and cerebrovascular diseases). The occurrence of OAB was monitored until the end of 2011. Hazard ratios of OAB were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Researchers analyzed data of 4571 patients with IPD and 18,255 control patients. The mean follow-up period for the IPD cohort was 5.0 years.

Results showed a significantly higher overall incidence rate of OAB in the IPD cohort compared with the non-IPD cohort (14.5 vs. 6.37 per 10,000 person-years), with a 2.3-fold increased risk of OAB (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.51–3.51) after controlling for benign prostate hyperplasia and stress incontinence.

The cumulative incidence of OAB was 0.65% at the fifth year and 1.54% at the tenth year after IPD diagnosis; this risk was highest in the 65-74 age group (Published March 2, 2018. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0193783).

Authors noted that study findings are limited by the use of diagnosis codes to identify patients with IPD.

—Amanda Del Signore

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