Urinary urgency travels with vascular disease and erectile dysfunction

Design

Secondary cross-sectional analysis of prospective cohorts (LURN I and II)

Population

2,118 adults: 268 controls, 609 urgency only, 1,241 urgency incontinence

Primary outcome

Vascular comorbidity and erectile dysfunction

Effect

Vascular comorbidity OR 3.2 (95% CI 1.7–6.2); ED 64% UUI vs 29% controls

In a secondary analysis of the US LURN cohorts, 2,118 adults were grouped as controls, urgency without incontinence or urgency urinary incontinence.

After adjustment for age, sex and other comorbidity, urgency was associated with about three times the odds of vascular disease (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.7–6.2). Among men, erectile dysfunction was present in 64% with urgency incontinence, 41% with urgency alone and 29% of controls. Cardiometabolic protein differences between groups did not survive adjustment.

This is cross-sectional and cannot say which comes first. It supports treating urgency, particularly with incontinence, as a possible marker of vascular health.

• Ask men with urgency incontinence about erectile function.
• Consider checking cardiovascular risk factors in patients presenting with urgency incontinence.
• Record angina, stroke and peripheral vascular disease in the urological history.
• Treat urgency on its own merits; vascular disease did not predict treatment response.

Why it matters

It links a common bladder symptom to treatable vascular risk.

Don't overread it

A cross-sectional association does not show that vascular disease causes urgency.

The statistics, in plain English

An odds ratio of 3.2 with an interval of 1.7 to 6.2 means a strong association, though its exact size is uncertain because there were only 268 controls.

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