Overactive Bladder Increases Falling Risk in the Elderly

NEW ORLEANS—Overactive bladder (OAB) is associated with an increased risk of falls in elderly patients, researchers reported at the 2015 American Urological Association annual meeting.

Ravishankar Jayadevappa, PhD, and colleagues at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia identified 32,587 Medicare fee-for-service patients (mean age 77.7 years) diagnosed with OAB. These patients had a significantly higher prevalence of falls than Medicare patients without OAB (10.2% vs. 5.3%), which translated into 40% increased risk of falls in the OAB group. The OAB patients also had a higher comorbidity burden than non-OAB patients.

Additionally, of the patients with OAB, only 10% received treatment for it. OAB treatment was associated with a significant 8% decreased risk of falls compared with OAB patients who did not receive treatment.