Dr. Syan on disparities in overactive bladder

In this video, Raveen Syan, MD, FPMRS, shares the background behind her International Continence Society Meeting 2023 presentation “Addressing and overcoming disparities in overactive bladder.” Syan is an assistant professor in clinical urology at the University of Miami Desai Sethi Urology Institute in Miami, Florida.

Transcription:

Please describe the background for your International Continence Society Meeting 2023 presentation "Addressing and overcoming disparities in overactive bladder."

We know that in overactive bladder, prevalences vary between race and ethnicity where, actually quite commonly, minorities may experience worse severity and prevalence of overactive bladder. Specifically, Hispanic [patients] and Black [patients] may have more severe overactive bladder symptoms, whereas Asian [patients] tend to have a lower prevalence. So although there may be some variety in prevalence and severity of disease, what's most striking is when we know a patient has that diagnosis, we have consistently found that minority women are less likely to receive treatments for overactive bladder. This includes oral therapies, surgical interventions, procedural interventions, and even when we have studied various socioeconomic factors such as insurance, location, age, comorbidities, it's still consistently found that race or ethnicity is an independent predictor of being less likely to receive treatment. That's really concerning, obviously, because race and ethnicity is is not genetic. It is a social construct. There's nothing biologic about your race or ethnicity. So we really have to delve into why this is going on. And clearly we are not well identifying other factors that impact receiving care.

This transcript was edited for clarity.