Comparing Vitamin D Supplementation Versus Placebo for Urgency Urinary Incontinence: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation to reduce urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) episodes. Design: Pilot, two-arm, randomized trial conducted from 2013 to 2017. Interventions were 12 weeks of weekly oral 50,000 IU vitamin D3 or placebo. Setting: Academic, university-based outpatient clinic. Participants: Community-dwelling postmenopausal women, 50 years or older, with at least three UUI episodes on 7-day bladder diary and serum vitamin 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) of 30 ng/mL or less. Measurements: The primary efficacy estimate was the percentage change in UUI episodes. Secondary estimates included changes in other lower urinary tract symptoms, along with exploratory subgroup analysis by race/ethnicity and obesity. Results: We randomized 56 women (aged 50-84 years; mean = 60.5 ± 8.2 years), 28 to vitamin D and 28 to placebo; 51 completed treatments. Mean serum 25(OH)D at baseline (21.2 ± 5.2 and 18.2 ± 5.6, P =.30) improved to 57.9 ± 16.3 ng/mL with vitamin D3 and 21.9 ± 8.2 ng/mL with placebo (P