B-type natriuretic peptide as an independent correlate of nocturnal voiding in Japanese women.

AIMS: To investigate whether objective cardiovascular parameters have an independent association with nocturnal voiding in women. METHODS: Thirty-two parameters derived from questionnaires, and anthropometric, physiological and biochemical measures of 5,980 women were applied for analysis. Nocturnal voiding was assessed by the International Prostate Symptom Score and the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score. We measured variables including previously reported correlates of nocturnal voiding, such as age, a history of hypertension, and a history of diabetes, as well as those focusing on cardiovascular function, such as the cardio-ankle vascular index, the augmentation index, the ankle-brachial index, plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: Age [odds ratio (OR): 1.058, P < 0.001], length of sleep (OR: 1.194, P < 0.001), sleeplessness (OR: 2.841, P < 0.001), urgency (OR: 1.528, P < 0.001), log(BNP) (OR: 2.031, P < 0.001), waist circumference (OR: 1.037, P = 0.002), body mass index (OR: 0.935, P = 0.007), menopause (OR: 1.503, P = 0.043), and history of hypertension (OR: 1.225, P = 0.029) were independently associated with nocturnal voiding ≥2 times. Age (ß = 0.256, P < 0.001), urgency (ß = 0.195, P < 0.001), sleeplessness (ß = 0.181, P < 0.001), length of sleep (ß = 0.088, P < 0.001), log(BNP) (ß = 0.072, P < 0.001), waist circumference (ß = 0.086, P < 0.001), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (ß = -0.038, P = 0.003) were significantly correlated with the severity of nocturnal voiding. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma BNP, which represents cardiac load, is strongly associated with the prevalence and severity of nocturnal voiding in Japanese women, as well as previously known correlates including age, urgency, quality and quantity of sleep, and obesity.