Association of Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis with Hyperlipidemia: A Case‒Control Study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Metabolic factors have been proposed to be related to the bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) pathogenesis. Herein, we investigated the association between metabolic factors, especially blood lipids, and BPS/IC.

METHODS

The present study adopted a case‒control design, comparing several metabolic indicators in 106 women with BPS/IC versus 164 women without BPS/IC, all of whom were diagnosed at the Hospital between January 2013 and December 2022. The case-control odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for metabolic indicators were estimated using logistic regression. The associations between indicators and BPS/IC classifications were assessed using ordinal multinominal logistic regression.

RESULTS

The propensity score-matching method was used to eliminate bias from age and body mass index (BMI), and the BPS/IC group had a greater hypercholesterolemia prevalence than the control group (16.3% vs 7.1%, p = 0.046), with an OR > 2.4 (p < 0.05). Ordinal multinomial logistic regression between indicators and BPS/IC classifications showed that age and triglycerides correlated with the BPS/IC lesion grade. However, when the data were corrected for age and BMI, triglycerides still correlated with lesion grade.

CONCLUSIONS

The BPS/IC group had a greater hypercholesterolemia prevalence than the control group. Hypercholesterolemia may be a risk factor. Cystoscopic lesion grade correlated with age and triglyceride level. These results indicate a potential association between hyperlipidemia and the BPS/IC pathogenesis.