Health Utility Value of Overactive Bladder in Japanese Older Adults

Objectives: To determine the health utility values (HUVs) of overactive bladder (OAB) among adults aged ≥65 years and to assess the HUV decrements (disutilities) of OAB according to its severity. Methods: This cross-sectional Internet-based study was conducted between 2 and 9 November 2023, with quota sampling with equal probability for each gender and age group (age 65–74 years and ≥75 years). OAB was defined as an urgency score of ≥2 points and a total score of ≥3 points based on the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score. OAB severity was categorized as mild (total score, ≥5 points) or moderate-to-severe (total score, 6–15 points). HUVs were measured using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level value set for the Japanese population. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to estimate the covariate-adjusted disutilities of OAB, with eight covariates selected based on previous studies. Results: Among the 998 participants (51.9% male; median age, 75 years), 158 (15.9%) had OAB, of whom 87 (8.8%) had moderate-to-severe OAB. The mean HUVs for participants with mild and moderate-to-severe OAB were 0.874 and 0.840, respectively, which were lower compared with the HUV for those without OAB (0.913). After adjusting for relevant covariates, disutilities (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for mild and moderate-to-severe OAB were −0.0334 (−0.0602 to −0.0066) and −0.0591 (−0.0844 to −0.0339), respectively. Conclusions: This study examined HUVs in older Japanese adults with and without OAB. The results demonstrate that increased OAB severity is associated with greater disutility.