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Differences in the Association of Nocturia and Functional Outcomes of Sleep by Age and Gender: A Cross-sectional, Population-based Study

  • Camille P.Vaughan,
  • Constance H.Fung,
  • Alison J.Huang,
  • Theodore M.Johnson 2nd,
  • Alayne D.Markland
Philip van Kerrebroeck

This article presents the results of a cross-sectional study involving merged data from the 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants responded to validated questions on nocturia frequency and sleep from the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire General Productivity subscale. Analyses included multivariable linear regression with stratification by gender to examine associations between nocturia frequency and the FOSQ-gp scores. The authors were able to collect data of 10,512 adults aged ≥20 years who completed the survey, of which 9148 (87%) had complete nocturia and FOSQ-gp data. The population age-adjusted prevalence of nocturia at least twice nightly was 21.1% among men and 26.6% among women, and nocturia increased with age. Compared with those with no or 1 episode of nocturia, those with nocturia at least twice nightly reported lower mean FOSQ-gp scores. Older adults (>65 years) with greater nocturia frequency reported worse FOSQ-gp scores compared with younger adults with similar nocturia frequency. In this cohort, the association between nocturia and worsened functional outcomes of sleep was greater among adults >65 years, a group more vulnerable to drug side effects, and in whom nocturia is typically multifactorial. Additionally, their analyses found that the association between nocturia and functional outcomes of sleep is stronger with increasing age among men. The authors conclude by stating that effective treatment strategies that are well tolerated by older adults, such as multicomponent treatments that simultaneously address the combined effects of lower urinary tract and sleep dysfunction, are needed.