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Sleep, body fat, reaction time linked to urinary symptoms during menopause
During and after menopause, urinary complaints are common and have been linked to belly fat, poor sleep and slowed reaction time, according to recent study findings published in Menopause.
“This study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence and predictors of storage [lower urinary tract symptoms] in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women attending a menopause clinic,” the researchers wrote.
Masakazu Terauchi, MD, PhD, NCMP, of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and colleagues evaluated 351 perimenopausal or postmenopausal women aged 40 to 76 years who were enrolled in a health and nutrition education program at a menopause clinic to determine the prevalence and predictors of storage lower urinary tract symptoms among them. Lower urinary tract symptoms included nocturia, urgency, frequency and incontinence.
At the initial visit, participants completed a menopausal health-related quality-of-life questionnaire to estimate the prevalence of frequent urination, nocturia, urge incontinence and stress incontinence. After the questionnaire, symptoms were defined as experiencing frequency if participants were bothered by frequent urination once or more a week; nocturia if they awakened more than once to urinate; urge urinary incontinence if they lost urine while feeling an urge to urinate; and stress urinary incontinence if they lost urine during physical activity, coughing or sneezing.
Nearly half (45.9%) of women were bothered by frequency more than once per week, and 22.5% were bothered almost every day. Stress urinary incontinence was the most common symptom (32.8%), followed by urge urinary incontinence (11.4%) and nocturia (10.8%).
Nonrestorative sleep score was an independent predictor of frequency (P < .001). Nonrestorative sleep score (P < .001) and waist-to-hip ratio (P < .001) were independent predictors of nocturia. Reaction time (measured through a rule-drop test) was an independent predictor of urge urinary incontinence (P < .023), and body fat was an independent predictor of stress urinary incontinence (P < .001).
“Storage [lower urinary tract symptoms] are highly prevalent in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women attending a menopause clinic,” the researchers wrote. “Nonrestorative sleep is associated with frequency and nocturia, body fat or visceral fat accumulation is associated with nocturia and [stress urinary incontinence], and delayed reaction time is associated with [urge urinary incontinence]. This population may benefit from a clinical assessment of these factors to reveal undisclosed storage [lower urinary tract symptoms].” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.