“I can’t do anything all day now, I live by constantly waiting to pee.” Professor Wang Jianye, vice chairman of the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, head of the Urinary Control Group and vice president of Beijing Hospital, told him in pain when he visited the hospital a few days ago. The patient was suffering from a disease called “OAB” DDD, short for “overactive bladder disease”.
At the press conference held in Beijing recently to launch the product “Weixikang”, Professor Wang Jianye pointed out that many people think OAB is a natural phenomenon, and most people, especially women, are even ashamed to talk about it. He appealed that “OAB” is both a physical and a psychological disease, which should be paid great attention and focus.
In 2007, in the “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Overactive Bladder Disease” issued by the Chinese Medical Association Urology Branch, OAB was defined as “a syndrome characterized by urinary urgency, often accompanied by urinary frequency and nocturia symptoms, with or without urge incontinence.”
The incidence of OAB is much higher than that of diabetes, asthma, and angina, and the older you are, the higher the incidence. Talking about the current status of OAB in China, Prof. Wang Jianye said that there are no data from large-scale epidemiological surveys in China, but according to data from small-scale flow surveys, the incidence of OAB in the Chinese population is similar to that abroad.
Based on a 2003 epidemiological survey on the United Kingdom showed that 1 in 6 adults suffer from OAB; the U.S. epidemiological report shows that among adults, the prevalence of OAB is 16.6%; in 2008, China’s Fuzhou area survey showed that the incidence of OAB in women is about 8%, so it can be initially presumed that the number of OAB patients in China is quite large.
Unfortunately, the public awareness of OAB disease in China is very low, it is estimated that only 15% of OAB patients seek treatment, and only half of these patients can get the correct diagnosis and treatment.
“It’s true that this disease doesn’t kill you, but it can make a person’s quality of life lower.” Professor Wang Jianye said, for example, reducing social activities and not being able to sit for long periods of time; people who love sports have to limit or discontinue them.
Early detection, diagnosis and treatment of OAB are crucial for patients to avoid further development of other diseases and to effectively improve the quality of life.