Pelvic organ prolapse quantification in women referred with overactive bladder.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: A study was carried out to investigate the relationship of anterior vaginal wall descent or prolapse to overactive bladder and its potential mechanisms, advancing the management of overactive bladder (OAB).

METHODS: Two hundred twenty-six consecutive women with OAB symptoms were prospectively studied using OAB questionnaire (OAB-q) and pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q). According to POP-Q staging, they were divided into three groups: stages 0, I, and II. For statistical analysis, a one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences with Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc analysis for continuous variables (OAB-q symptom severity, health-related quality of life total scores, and age) and chi-squared test for discrete variable (number of menopausal women).

RESULTS: Twenty-two women (9.73%) did not show any prolapse on examination; 204 (90.26%) had anterior vaginal wall descent or prolapse. The outcome statistics denoted that the difference in OAB-q scores among three groups has statistical significance (P < 0.05). Anterior vaginal wall descent or prolapse may have associations with OAB.

CONCLUSIONS: Anterior vaginal wall descent or prolapse may have associations with OAB and is directly correlated to OAB severity.