People affected by overactive bladder syndrome experience an alteration in the bladder's filling phase, presenting involuntary detrusor muscle contractions that result in an urgent need to urinate.
Urgency, which is the sudden and difficult-to-postpone desire to urinate, is the most characteristic symptom of this condition. As for frequency, affected individuals need to go to the bathroom more than eight times a day, including at night, which is known as nocturia.
This condition affects more than 400 million people worldwide and over 10 million people in Europe. According to data from the Overactive Bladder Guide by the Spanish Association of Urology (AEU), its prevalence in Spain in people over 40 years old is 21.5%, being higher in women (25.6%) than in men (17.4%). This means that more than three million women and almost two million men suffer from this urological problem. Prevalence increases with age, affecting 30-40% of people over 75 years old.
Overactive bladder syndrome has a negative impact on the quality of life of those who suffer from it and their family members or caregivers, as 65% of them find their social, family, and work lives affected because they must plan their activities around access to a bathroom.
Currently, treatments for this syndrome are based on drugs that relax the bladder muscles to achieve better control of urination and on measures that help reduce symptoms. In this regard, there are alternative treatments related to urinary pH.
Several studies have shown that by decreasing the amount of acid reaching the bladder through urine, some of the symptoms of overactive bladder syndrome can be improved. Alkalinization (or increase) of urinary pH can be achieved through changes in diet and nutritional supplements that help contribute to the normal functioning of the body's acid-base balance and, therefore, improve quality of life.
