Association between the American Heart Association’s new “Life Essentials 8” metrics and urgency urinary incontinence and nocturia

Despite its widespread adoption in cardiovascular research, the application of LE8 in other health conditions, particularly urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and nocturia, has not been thoroughly investigated. Our study used the Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) and urge urinary incontinence and nocturia in adults.

This analysis utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2011–2018. We used the LE8 score as the independent variable, and UUI and nocturia as the dependent variables. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to explore the association between the LE8 score and the occurrence of UUI and nocturia.

The study included 12,566 adults aged 20 and older. After adjusting for potential confounders, a higher LE8 score was inversely associated with the risk of UUI (OR = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.27–0.52, p < 0.0001) and nocturia (OR = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.44–0.65, p < 0.0001).

This cross-sectional study revealed an inverse relationship between the LE8 score and the likelihood of both UUI and nocturia.