The relationship between severity of overactive bladder symptoms and cognitive dysfunction, anxiety and depression in female patients with multiple sclerosis

Background: Overactive bladder (OAB), cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety are common problems encountered in MS. This study was planned to investigate the relationship between the severity of OAB symptoms and cognitive function, anxiety and depression in MS.Methods: 100 patients with MS diagnosis with OAB symptoms were recruited. OAB symptoms was assessed with the OAB-V8 questionnaire. Symbol Digit Modalites Test (SDMT), California Verbal Learning Test II (CVLT-II) and Brief Vasospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) in BICAMS Battery were used to evaluate cognitive function. Depression and anxiety were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety Depression (HAD) Scale.Results: The mean age of the patients was 40.9 +/- 12.3, the duration of the disease was 9.03 +/- 6.89 years, and the mean OAB-V8 score was 17.6 +/- 8.9. SDMT test (r=-0.299, p<0.01) showed a moderately significant, CVLT-II (r=-0.219, p<0.05) and BVMT-R (r=-0.218, p<0.05) tests showed a weakly significant negative correlation with OAB-V8 score. There was a moderate positive correlation between the OAB-V8 score and HAD-D (r=0.279, p=0.005) and HAD-A (r=0.318, p=0.001) scores. SDMT and BVMT-R scores were significantly lower in anticholinergic (Ach) drug users (especially oxybutynin users) compared to those who did not use Ach drugs.Conclusions: It has been observed that the severity of OAB symptoms is related to worsening of information processing speed and an increase in depression and anxiety. It has been determined that there is a significant effect on information processing speed, visual learning and memory in patients using Ach drugs, especially in those using oxybutynin, compared to those who do not use Ach drugs.

Automated summary

This study investigated the relationship between the severity of overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms and cognitive function, anxiety and depression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The results showed that the severity of OAB symptoms was associated with worsening of information processing speed and an increase in depression and anxiety. Additionally, the use of anticholinergic drugs, especially oxybutynin, had a significant impact on information processing speed, visual learning, and memory.