Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common, disabling condition that negatively impacts patients' daily lives, physical activities, sleep quality, and work productivity, ultimately affecting their overall quality of life. We aimed to develop a Turkish version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire–Overactive Bladder (ICIQ-OAB) for use in clinical practice and research.

Women attending a urogynecology outpatient clinic with lower urinary tract symptoms were evaluated for inclusion criteria. To determine the presence of OAB symptoms, we evaluated each woman and asked the question: “Have you ever experienced a sudden, compelling desire to urinate that is difficult to defer, which made you stop what you were doing and run to the bathroom?” The sample size of the study was calculated according to item response theory, which proposes different sample sizes (1:5–1:10 ratio). Based on these recommended rates, the sample size was set at least 40 participants by taking 10 times the number of the 4 items. Permissions were obtained from the ICIQ Advisory Board; the English version of the questionnaire was initially translated into Turkish, then back-translated into English, and the translation was modified according to the recommendations of the ICIQ Advisory Board. Pilot testing was performed with 10 women. Validity (content/face validity and discriminant validity), reliability (test-retest reliability and internal consistency), and sensitivity to change were evaluated.

The study protocol was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee and was conducted in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

A total of 109 patients were screened for inclusion; 92 met the inclusion criteria and completed the assessment. The mean age of participants was 54.21±11.98 years, and the mean BMI was 29.30± 3.62 kg/m2 Participants were divided into two groups: those with (n=45)and those without (n=45) OAB syndrome (Table 1).

All women completed the same questionnaire 15 days later. More than 90% of the women reported that the questions were clear, unequivocal, and comprehensive. Missing data accounted for less than 1%, indicating adequate content and face validity. The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the questionnaire was 0.73, indicating adequate internal consistency. The intraclass correlation coefficient and Kappa values for individual items were > 0.7, indicating adequate test-retest reliability. Questionnaires from symptomatic and asymptomatic women were compared using the area under the ROC curve (AUC), demonstrating good discriminant validity. Thirty-nine women in the symptomatic group received treatment, and their results after three months were analyzed for sensitivity to change. There was a significant improvement in questionnaire scores, which correlated with pre- and post-treatment bladder diary results, showing good sensitivity to change.

The results of this study demonstrate that the Turkish version of the ICIQ-OAB questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing OAB in Turkish women, supported by the low rate of missing data, adequate internal consistency, and good stability.

Turkish version of ICIQ-OAB were shown valid and reliable and can be used in Turkish-speaking women worldwide for both clinical practice and research purposes.