Key result
Autonomic dysregulation is linked to overactive bladder and may predict treatment outcomes.
Why the study?
Autonomic nervous system dysregulation may play a role in the origin of isolated lower urinary tract symptoms, but the evidence regarding this association needed summarization.
Is there an association between lower urinary tract disorders and autonomic nervous system dysfunction?
Is there an association between lower urinary tract disorders and autonomic nervous system dysfunction?
Autonomic nervous system dysregulation may play a role in the origin of lower urinary tract disorders such as overactive bladder, and ANS assessment could potentially predict treatment outcomes.
Autonomic assessment may aid outcome prediction in overactive bladder; leaves open causal role and need for interventional trials.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays a key role in the control of micturition, ensuring an alternation between storage and voiding phases. Any lesion in the neural pathways may be responsible for lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction, usually associated with bowel and sexual disorders. In individuals with isolated LUT symptoms, dysregulation of the ANS may play a role in the origin of these disorders. This review summarizes the current evidence regarding the association between LUT disorders and ANS dysfunction, explored through a panel of autonomic tests (autonomic cardiovascular testing, heart rate variability, pupillometry, sudomotor tests, etc.). Special focus will be given to the most extensively studied relationship in the literature: ANS dysregulation and overactive bladder, a common syndrome characterized by urinary urgency. The potential of ANS assessment as a predictor of treatment outcomes will be also discusses, as well as the impact of LUT symptom therapies on ANS function.
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Hentzen et al. (2026) conducted a review in Lower urinary tract disorders. Autonomic nervous system dysregulation is associated with lower urinary tract disorders, particularly overactive bladder, and autonomic assessment may serve as a predictor of treatment outcomes.
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