Overactive bladder 4.4 X more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis
Vitamin D levels and the risk of overactive bladder: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Nutrition Reviews, Volume 82, Issue 2, February 2024, Pages 166–175, https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuad049
Qiang Zhang, Zhicheng Zhang, Xueyu He, Zhenmin Liu, Lianju Shen, Chunlan Long, Guanghui Wei, Xing Liu, Chunming Guo
Context
Overactive bladder is treated mainly with behavioral and drug therapy, and symptoms of urinary frequency and incontinence are challenging to eliminate. There is thus a continuous unmet need for new drugs with a substitution effect mechanism.
Objective
It not known whether vitamin D deficiency can lead to overactive bladder or urinary incontinence or whether vitamin D supplementation alleviates bladder symptoms. This comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether overactive bladder is associated with vitamin D deficiency.
Data Sources
The PubMed and Cochrane Library databases were searched systematically up to July 3, 2022.
Data Extraction
Initially, 706 articles were identified in the literature search, of which 13 were included in the systematic review: 4 randomized controlled trials, 3 cohort studies, 3 cross-sectional studies, and 3 case-control studies.
Data Analysis
An increased risk of overactive bladder and urinary incontinence was observed with vitamin D deficiency (odds ratio [OR] = 4.46; 95%CI, 1.03–19.33; P = 0.046 and OR = 1.30; 95%CI, 1.01–1.66; P = 0.036, respectively). Vitamin D levels were relatively low in patients with overactive bladder or urinary incontinence (SMD = −0.33; 95%CI, −0.61 to −0.06, P = 0.019).
On the basis of existing data, the risk of urinary incontinence was reduced by 66% after vitamin D supplementation (OR = 0.34 ; 95%CI, 0.18–0.66; P = 0.001). Egger test was conducted to assess publication bias, and the results were tested for robustness using a sensitivity analysis.
Conclusions
Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of overactive bladder and urinary incontinence, and vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of urinary incontinence. The development of new strategies to prevent or alleviate bladder symptoms is crucial. Vitamin D supplementation may be gaining recognition as an effective strategy for prevention or alleviation of bladder symptoms such as overactive bladder and incontinence.
Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42022351443.
