Dr. Shoham publishes in Physician’s Weekly

Dr. David Shoham, Chair of East Tennessee State University College of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, is co-author of an article in Physician’s Weekly. The article, “Changes in Bladder Health Over Time: A Longitudinal Analysis of Adult Women in the Boston Area Community Health Survey,” describes changes in bladder health, defined as “a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being related to bladder function that permits daily activities, adapts to short-term stressors, and allows optimal well-being,” in women over time.

Dr. Siobhan Sutcliffe of the Washington University School of Medicine is lead author of the article.  Additional co-authors include members of the University of Minnesota, the National Institutes of Health, Loyola University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the University of Pennsylvania.

The researchers used data on 15 lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and interference from urinary experiences assessed at the baseline and five-year follow-up interviews of the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey to estimate changes in bladder health over time in women. Associations between baseline and follow-up bladder health were calculated by ordinal logistic regression and generalized linear models.

2,526 women provided complete information on bladder health at baseline and follow-up. Over the five-year follow-up, 6.5% of women maintained optimal bladder health with no lower urinary tract symptoms or interference, 33.6% developed worse bladder health, 31.4% maintained their less than optimal bladder health status, and 28.7% improved. Despite these changes, women with poorer bladder health at baseline were still more likely to have poorer bladder health five years later.

Findings suggest considerable variability in bladder health over time, and underscore the importance of bladder health promotion to prevent the initial onset and progression of poor bladder health in women.