Higher caffeine consumption can contribute to OAB. Many women who suffer from mental illness have OAB. The hypothesis was that women with mental heath disorders might self-medicate with caffeine.

This study was designed to determine if women with both OAB symptoms and mental health disorders (anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder or depression) have higher consumption of caffeine than those without a mental health diagnosis. The case control study was comprised of 61 community dwelling women with self-reported OAB, with or without history of mental illness. Mean total beverage amount (oz.) was 220 ( range 81-512). Mean BMI was 27.3 (range 16.4-40.4). Caffeine intake did not correlate with age. Intake of caffeine in women with mental health diagnosis showed a trend towards higher dosages when compared to women without a diagnosis of a mental health disorder.

This study begins to fill a gap in the literature on the association of OAB and mental health. A key limitation of this study was the possibility of undiagnosed mental illness in subjects.

Presented by M. Tolbert, V. Chakravarthy, C. Garcia, and J. Miller at the 39th Annual Conference of the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates – October 3 – 6, 2008 – Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Reported by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Diane K. Newman, MSN, CRNP, FAAN, BCIA-PMDB

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