Prevalence of symptoms of painful bladder syndrome in a diverse community-based sample: results from the bach survey

Purpose Painful bladder syndrome (PBS) has been defined by the International Continence Society as suprapubic pain related to bladder filling, with other symptoms such as increased daytime and night-time urinary frequency, in the absence of proven urinary infection or other obvious pathology. The Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey is a population-based epidemiologic survey of urologic symptoms in Hispanic, black, and white men and women aged 30 to 79. The target sample ( N ≈ 6000) is being recruited in batches of 1000, each of which is a representative subsample. Using initial data from the first three batches, we calculated prevalence of self-reported PBS symptoms. Methods The study sample included 882 men and 1570 women; 218 respondents with a bladder or kidney infection within the past year or with incomplete information were excluded. Bladder pain was defined as “pain increasing when the bladder fills” and/or “pain relieved by urination.” Urgency was defined as “a strong urge to urinate immediately.” Presence of the symptom was defined as a frequency equal to or greater than “fairly often” and duration of 3 months or longer. Urinary frequency was defined as urination eight or more times during the day or two or more times at night. We defined PBS as presence of bladder pain, urgency, and frequency. Possible PBS was defined as bladder pain with urgency and/or frequency. Estimates and standard errors were computed with weights and clustering corresponding to the sampling design. Results Prevalence of PBS was 0.3% (95% CI = 0.1%, 0.5%), with no significant differences by gender or race and ethnicity. Prevalence for possible PBS was 0.9% (95% CI = 0.4%, 1.4%), with no significant differences by gender (0.7% men, 1.0% women) or age group. Possible PBS prevalence was significantly different by race and ethnicity (CMH χ 2 (2) = 9.4, P  = 0.01): Hispanic 2.5%, African American 1.1%, white 0.4%. Conclusion The prevalence of PBS is similar in men and women. Preliminary estimates suggest the prevalence may be higher in nonwhites.