Endocrine Abstracts

Background and Aim: Diabetic neurogenic bladder (DNB) is a frequent complication affecting up to 45% of patients suffering from diabetes mellitus (DM). Our study aims to evaluate the impact of DNB on the quality of life (QoL) in this population.

Patients and Methods: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 200 patients with DNB. Their QoL was assessed using the Ditrovie scale.

Results: The mean age was 59.3±10.6 years with a female predominance (55.5%). The average duration of diabetes was 11±7.9 years. Mixed insulin-oral antidiabetic treatment (44.2%) was most often proposed. A glycaemic imbalance was noted in 79.7% of patients with a mean HbA1C of 9.2±2.4%. Microvascular complications related to diabetes were frequent: retinopathy (29.6%), nephropathy (9.5%), and sensory-motor neuropathy (53.5%). Macroangiopathy was reported in 21.6%. Overactive bladder (70.5%) was the most reported urinary disorder, followed by dysuria (51.5%) and stress urinary incontinence (22.5%). The mean Ditrovie score in our series was 2.52 (range=1-5). QoL was impaired in 44% of patients who described their experience as "bad" (9.5%), "average" (13%), or "worse" (21.5%). Only 18.2% of the surveyed patients had received consultations for their urinary discomfort. Less than 5% were cured or satisfied with the management.

Discussion: DNB is an autonomous complication that is largely underestimated in clinical practice. Patients presenting DM do not report symptoms unless the urinary discomfort would have a severe impact on daily activities. Thus, screening for these disorders should be done systematically by healthcare providers during diabetes consultations.

References: 1. Guiming, Liu, and Daneshgari Firouz. "Diabetic bladder dysfunction." Chinese medical journal 127.07 (2014): 1357-1364.

2. Wittig, Luc, et al. "Diabetic bladder dysfunction: a review." Urology 123 (2019): 1-6.