Known as nocturia, condition can be benign or linked to more serious health issue, researchers note
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many women have to get up more than once a night because of a full bladder, a new study finds.
Researchers found that of over 2,000 women aged 40 and up, one-third said they routinely got up at least twice a night to use the bathroom. Doctors refer to that as nocturia, and it can be a sign that you're drinking too much tea or coffee at night -- or a signal of a serious health condition.
"Traditionally, nocturia has been considered a part of other urinary tract disorders," said lead researcher Dr. Amy Hsu, a fellow at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
But in this study, 40 percent of the women with nocturia reported no other urinary tract symptoms, such as daytime overactive bladder or urine leakage.
That suggests nocturia often cannot be attributed to those conditions, according to Hsu, who reports the findings in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Mary Townsend, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said nocturia is increasingly being recognized as a condition unto itself.
"And this study supports that view," said Townsend, who was not involved in the research.
Even if nocturia is a woman's only symptom, it can still be significant. "We know that nocturia can lead to lower sleep quality," Townsend said. "Poor sleep can negatively affect your mood or daytime functioning, including your productivity at work."
And for older women, she noted, getting up at night could lead to a fall and potentially serious injury.
Hsu's team found that, not surprisingly, nocturia was more common among relatively older women. For every five-year increase in age, a woman's risk rose by 21 percent. Nocturia was also more common among women who'd had a hysterectomy, hot flashes or had used vaginal estrogen to treat menopause symptoms.
Bladder problems are common after hysterectomy, and other studies have found a link to nocturia. As for hot flashes, they are notorious for keeping women up at night -- which could be one reason for the connection to nocturia, according to Hsu.
source : Full Bladder May Get a Third of Women Over 40 Up at Night
