This study evaluates whether eliminating certain ingredients (caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, acidic juices) consumed in beverages reduces bladder symptoms of urinary frequency and urgency. Women with overactive bladder will be recruited. Half of these women will receive instructions to replace beverages containing these ingredients with beverages such as water or milk. The other half of participants will receive instructions on following the United States Department of Agriculture guidelines on healthy eating.
It is commonly believed that it is better for women's bladders if intake of certain beverages is eliminated. Advice is given to women with frequency/urgency symptoms to avoid coffee or tea, sodas or pop, or any other drinks that contain alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners or high acidic content. Although the investigators do not know the direct cause and effect of consuming beverages with these ingredients, there might be reduction in "irritating" sensation to toilet often because of urgency if the beverages with these ingredients are replaced by "non-irritating" beverages.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
65
This group will receive a 7 minute video teaching participants to replace beverages that include caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, or acidic juices with equal volume intake of water, milk, or other beverages that do not have these ingredients in them.
This group will receive a 7 minute video teaching them the USDA guidelines for healthy eating.
University of Michigan School of Nursing
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Urination frequency on 3-day bladder diary
Average number of times urinated per day on 3-day bladder diary
Time frame: 2-weeks
Volume of urine per toileting event
Average volume of urine per day with each toileting event on 3-day bladder diary
Time frame: 2-weeks
Daily urination urgency symptoms (Adapted from Bower et al 2001)
The adapted question reads, "Typically, when you needed to go to the bathroom today you could…" with the five potential responses ranging from "make the urge go away" to "already feel the urine coming out." Urgency will be measured as the mean reported score for each three-day time period for the perception of bladder fullness questionnaires.
Time frame: 2-weeks
Perception of bladder fullness relative to urination delay ability (DeWachter, 2003)
On 3-day diary, participants will be asked to indicate their perception of bladder fullness when they urinated that day: "no bladder sensation," "urinating could easily be delayed for more than 30-60 minutes," "urinating could only be delayed for 30 minutes," "urinating could only be delayed for 5 minutes" and "immediate urinating will be mandatory and/or fear of leakage."
Time frame: 2-weeks
Bother associated with bladder symptoms (Coyne 2002)
The investigators will use only the "bother" questions of this larger Questionnaire about bladder symptoms. We modified the original think-back period of 4-weeks to instead think back to "the past 3 days" to characterize the bother of bladder symptoms under the varying conditions of each specific intervention period. Bother will be measured on the final day on the bottom of each of the 3-day diaries.
Time frame: 2-months
Urination frequency on 3-day diary (longer-term effect)
Average number of times urinated per day on 3-day bladder diary
Time frame: 2-months
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