Introduction and Purpose: The prevalence of overactive bladder (OAB) in young women has not been fully described. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of OAB and associated symptoms in female graduate and health professions students. Study design and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design. All female graduate and health professions students from Pacific University’s College of Health Professions were invited to participate, and 210 students participated. Study participants filled out the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q), a 4-day bladder diary, and a demographic information questionnaire. Results: Response rate was 21.2%. The average age of participants was 25.53 plus or minus 3.71. Prevalence of OAB was 21.6%, prevalence of frequency was 29.9%, prevalence of nocturia was 43.1%, and prevalenceof urinary incontinence was 4.4%. Discussion and Conclusion: Because of differences in study design, it is difficult to compare these results with results reported in other studies. However, the results indicate that many young women suffer from OAB and its associated symptoms of frequency, nocturia, and incontinence. Future research should be done to verify the ideal mechanism for identifying OAB, and to compare prevalence rates among different groups.
