Food, diet and dietetic in treatment of urinary tract dysfunctions. A review

Overactive bladder symptoms (OAB) are frequent and can impact quality of life for these patients. Numerous and various treatments could be proposed in order to improve well-being and quality of life, but all these treatments have side effects and determine for many patients, important care constraints. We present here a review of food and diet in OAB. Material and methods Literature review from PubMed Medline database and Google scholar to August 2016, without time restriction. Two hundred and ninety-six articles were screened, in English and in French, and finally, 10 were retained. HAS recommandation have been used for level of evidence. Results On the 10 studies included, only two randomised controled trial were included. The first one showed decreases on urgency (by a half) (P = 0.02) and on frequency (by a third) (P = 0.035), secondary to reduction of caffeine consumption by a half after education [LE2]. The second randomized trial showed significant decreases on the first need to void in urodynamic study after caffeine consumption (170 mL vs. 210 mL) [LE2]. Feed like bread, chicken or nutrient like vitamin C or D were assessed in cohort or observational studies and appear as protective factors of OAB onset. Instead carbonated drinks may have a negative impact on symptoms, increasing urinary incontinence (OR 1.41 [95 % CI: 1.02–1.95]) [LE2], and there are contradictory results for alcohol consumption. Conclusion Diet seems to have an impact on overactive bladder syndrome and particularly caffeine consumption, which increases storage symptoms.