Association between overactive bladder and female sexual frequency: a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and nutrition examination survey data

Overactive bladder (OAB) and female sexual dysfunction (FSD) are both common problems in women, but the association between OAB and FSD lacks a large sample study. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between OAB and FSD. Data for this study were obtained from the 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for women aged 20–59 years. OAB was qualified with the aid of the overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), which was obtained by adding the nocturia score and the urge urinary incontinence score, and participants with a total score ≥ 3 were considered to suffer from OAB. The FSD was defined as a sexual frequency of less than 12 times per year. After adjusting for covariates including basic demographic information, social information (e.g., marital status), gynecological (e.g., abnormal menstruation), and significant medical comorbidities, the association between OAB and FSD was assessed using survey-weighted logistic regression mode. In addition, subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were used to further assess the reliability of the findings. A total of 5590 women aged 20–59 were eligible in the final analysis from 2007 to 2016 NHANES. 30.43% of participants (n = 1701) were identified as FSD reporting sexual frequency of 0–11 times/year, while 69.57% of participants (n = 3889) were identified as normal female sexual function reporting sexual frequency > 11 times/year. We performed logistic regression analysis to examine the association between OAB and FSD. The results demonstrated that participants with OAB (OABSS < 3) were 23% more likely to report lower sexual frequency (≤ 11) than those without OAB (OABSS ≥ 3) after adjusting fully for demographics, social history, gynecologic history and significant medical conditions (OR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.01–1.49, P = 0.040). The study demonstrated the positive association between OAB and FSD measured by low sexual frequency among women 20–59 years old in the U.S. population; it is necessary to perform more comprehensive cohort studies to gain more profound understanding of the association between them.