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Position statement: a clinical approach to the management of adult non-neurogenic overactive bladder

Sean A Martin, Nicholas R Brook and Gary A Wittert
Med J Aust 2018; 208 (10): . || doi: 10.5694/mja18.00174
Published online: 4 June 2018

We read with interest the recent position statement on the management of non-neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB) published in the Journal.1 This considered statement reflects recent guidelines from national and international urological societies, including the American Urological Association, the European Association of Urology, the International Continence Society, the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand and the UroGynaecological Society of Australasia. In recognition of the often repeated phrase in urological research “the bladder is an unreliable witness”, there has been an increasing emphasis on addressing factors beyond the bladder when managing patients with OAB and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).2 The authors of the MJA statement deal with this issue more than most by encouraging their readers to be mindful of known OAB risk factors and comorbid conditions. However, one condition in particular, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), continues to be overlooked in the diagnosis and management of OAB and LUTS.


  • 1 Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men's Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA
  • 2 University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA
  • 3 Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA


Correspondence: sean.martin@adelaide.edu.au

Acknowledgements: 

This work was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant (no. 627227). Sean Martin is currently funded by an NHMRC Early Career Researcher Fellowship (no. 1113423). Gary Wittert has previously received research funding from the ResMed Foundation.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Chung E, Lee D, Gani J, et al. Position statement: a clinical approach to the management of adult non-neurogenic overactive bladder. Med J Aust 2018; 208: 41-45. <MJA full text>
  • 2. Chapple CR. Lower urinary tract symptoms revisited. Eur Urol 2009; 56: 21-23.
  • 3. Martin SA, Appleton SL, Adams RJ, et al. Nocturia, other lower urinary tract symptoms and sleep dysfunction in a community-dwelling cohort of men. Urology 2016; 97: 219-226.
  • 4. Wang T, Huang W, Zong H, Zhang Y. The efficacy of continuous positive airway pressure therapy on nocturia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Neurourol J 2015; 19: 178-184.
  • 5. Wittert GA, Martin S, Sutherland P, et al. Overactive bladder in men as a marker of cardiometabolic risk. Med J Aust 2012; 197: 379-380. <MJA full text>

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