Sensory Sensitivity and Urinary Symptoms in the Female Population

Bladder pain and discomfort, as well as urinary urgency and frequency, are bothersome symptoms seen frequently in the general population. Clinical diagnostic terms used to describe these symptoms include interstitial cystitis (IC), bladder pain syndrome (BPS), chronic prostatitis, and overactive bladder (OAB), but there is tremendous overlap between these entities, and the distinction between them is based more on eminence than evidence.

Pain and/or sensory sensitivity has been suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of both bladder pain and urinary urgency/frequency. However, no previous studies have investigated whether entities such as IC/BPS and OAB might merely represent different points in a continuum of bladder sensory sensitivity. Moreover, we know of no studies that have directly compared sensory sensitivity in the bladder to global (i.e. CNS-mediated) sensory sensitivity.

In the study, a team of investigators with complementary expertise will perform a population-based study assessing bladder and overall sensory sensitivity, in a cohort of women representative of the population with respect to the entire continuum of bladder pain (from none to severe), and symptoms of urgency/frequency. These individuals will undergo urodynamics to measure sensory sensitivity in the bladder, as well as pressure pain and auditory loudness thresholds. The Specific Aims are to demonstrate: 1) sensory sensitivity in the bladder is related to sensory sensitivity elsewhere in the body, suggesting a CNS-driven mechanism, and 2) individuals in the population with greater global sensory sensitivity will display: a) more bladder pain, b) more urgency/frequency, and c) other symptoms of centrally-mediated pain states, such as pain in regions other than the bladder, fatigue, and insomnia.