Factors Influencing Medication Selection for Management of Overactive Bladder: Trends and Insights From AUA Quality Registry

OBJECTIVE To determine how a patient's demographics, including insurance type, race/ethnicity, gender, and age, may impact the choice of medication prescribed for overactive bladder (OAB). METHODS We queried the AUA Quality Registry for adults between 2014 and 2020 with a diagnosis of OAB for > 1 year, excluding neurogenic causes. Variables included age, race/ethnicity, gender, insurance type, medication first prescribed, year of prescription, provider metropolitan status, and provider practice type. Primary outcome was which factors were associated with increased odds of beta-3 prescription as first medication choice. RESULTS We found 1,453,566 patients with OAB, 641,122 (44.1%) with complete data. Of these, 112,021 (17.5%) were prescribed medication. On multivariate analysis, patients with Medicaid, Medicare, and other/self-pay insurance were less likely to receive a beta-3 vs an anticholinergic compared to private or military insurance. Compared to white patients, Asian, Black, and other races were less likely to receive a beta-3, as were patients outside of metropolitan areas. Age > 50, prescriptions after 2014, and nonacademic settings were associated with increased odds of beta-3 prescription. There was no difference between genders. CONCLUSION Many nonclinical factors, including insurance type and race, may affect which medication is first prescribed for OAB. This is useful for practicing urologists and may help lower barriers to beta-3 prescription through policy change and advocacy. UROLOGY 184: 51-57, 2024. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.