Urinary urgency is found to be associated with age in elderly adults, and obesity both in children and elderly. However, little is known about this relationship in young and middle-aged adults around the age of onset of urgency. We explored this association in young and middle-aged adults in a large scale survey.

A total of 2,568 Japanese adults (aged 20 to 59, 1,316 men and 1,252 women) were enrolled in this study. Urgency was assessed by OABSS (Overactive bladder symptom score, OAB Questioner). Lower urinary symptoms were evaluated by I-PSS. Obesity was evaluated with BMI, body weight, circumference and visceral fat.

Prevalence of urgency, urgent incontinence, dysuria, daytime frequency and night-time frequency was 14.8%, 1.9%, 5.3%, 34.8% and 27.2%, respectively. In both men and women, dysuria, day-time frequency and night-time frequency significantly increased with advancing age (all p <0.05). For urgency, the prevalence increased with age in men (odds ratio(OR) 1.4 for 40’s and OR 3.2 for 50’s; p trend<0.001), but that did not increase with age in women (OR 1.1 for 40 and OR 1.5 for 50; p trend=0.11; p interaction vs men=0.27). Obesity was divided into four groups (T1 to T4, T4 higher). Obesity was associated with urgency only in women (OR 1.7 for T3, OR 2.1 for T4; p trend =0.02; p interaction vs men=0.005).

We found that for urinary urgency, women were likely to be affected by obesity, and men were to be affected by age rather than obesity.

This information of gender differences on urgency may help to treat patients with urgency.