Association Between Oxidative Balance Score and Urinary Incontinence in Females: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2005-2018

Purpose: Oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of urinary incontinence (UI). This study aimed to assess the association between the oxidative balance score (OBS) and UI in adult females in the United States.

Methods: The study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database, spanning from 2005 to 2018. Weighted multivariate logistic regression, subgroup analyses, and restricted cubic spline regression were conducted to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) regarding the association between OBS and UI. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the findings.

Results: A total of 7304 participants were enrolled in this study. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants with lower OBS were found to have a higher likelihood of experiencing stress, urge, and mixed incontinence (OR, 0.986; 95% CI 0.975-0.998; p = 0.022; OR, 0.978; 95% CI 0.963-0.993; p = 0.004; and OR, 0.975; 95% CI 0.961-0.990; p = 0.001). Lifestyle factors were strongly associated with the prevalence and frequency of UI. The results remained consistent, and no significant interaction effects were observed in the subgroup analyses. The prevalence of three types of UI exhibited a nonlinear inverted U-shaped trend with increasing in OBS and dietary OBS (p for nonlinear < 0.05).

Conclusion: Among females, the higher the OBS, the lower the prevalence of UI. Therefore, dietary and lifestyle-related antioxidant therapy for females with UI should receive attention and be subject to further investigation.