Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between overactive bladder (OAB) and use of antidepressants in women.
Methods: This is a prospective trial, and in total, 205 consecutive female (113 patient taking antidepressants for various disorders and 92 healthy controls) outpatients from our outpatients were enrolled in this study. The patients were also divided into those with OAB symptoms, OAB-Validated 8 (OAB-V8 score of ≥8), and without OAB symptoms <8. The prevalence of OAB in the antidepressant users and healthy controls was compared. In addition, the prevalence of OAB was compared according to antidepressant type.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 36 ± 13 years. The demographic data of the two groups (OAB-V8 ≥ 8 and OAB-V8 < 8) were similar. The Beck Depression Inventory, OAB-V8, and Incontinence Questionnaire--Short Form scores of the antidepressant users were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.001, respectively). The prevalence of OAB was significantly higher in antidepressant users (64 %) than in the control group (33 %) (p = 0.003). The highest prevalence of OAB was detected in patients taking fluoxetine (63.6 %), and the lowest was observed in those taking sertraline (42.3 %) (p = 0.038).
Conclusion: There were more OAB symptoms in antidepressant users than in control group. Each SSRI and SNRI has a unique pharmacological profile, and this could explain the opposing reports in the literature. We recommend that patients taking antidepressants be carefully monitored for OAB symptoms.