Hypovitaminosis D is an independent associated factor of overactive bladder in older adults

Aim of the study: Urinary incontinence and vitamin D deficiency are common problems encountered in geriatric population. We aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between these conditions.

Subjects and method: Among 2281 patients who were admitted to our geriatric medicine outpatient clinic spanning the last three years, 705 patients with known vitamin D status, urinary incontinence and subtype, and calcium plus vitamin D therapy data were included in statistical analysis. Patients who are using calcium plus vitamin D therapy were excluded. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 15.0 for Windows was used for statistical analysis and p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results: Mean age of the study population was 72.3±6.4years and 62.8% were female. Plasma vitamin D level (OR: 0.968, 95%CI: 0.943-0.993, p=0.013), MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) score (OR: 0.944, 95%CI: 0.902-0.989, p=0.014), and serum ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase) level (OR: 0.995, 95%CI: 0.992-0.998, p=0.001) were found to be inversely correlated factors, and serum calcium level (OR: 1.772, 95%CI: 1.008-2.888, p=0.022) was found to be a positively correlated factor of overactive bladder. Considering the different clinical subtypes of urinary incontinence, only urgency incontinence was associated with lower plasma vitamin D level (p=0.013).

Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency are independent associated factors for overactive bladder in older adults. This is explicable by effects of vitamin D on muscle growth and function.