History of the Term “Overactive Bladder”

The history of the term overactive bladder touches many of the favorite controversies in urology; standardization of often subjective symptoms, the distinction between normal and disease, the role of industry, and the significance of a finding on urodynamic studies versus a patient’s chief complaint. This review explores the evolution of the term overactive bladder, from its popularization by Drs. Abrams and Wein in 1997 to the formalization by the ICS in 2002. We discuss the rationale for the use of the term over others, particularly the transition from multiple urodynamics based definitions to a symptoms-based definition and the arguments supporting as well as criticizing the shift. Lastly, we explore the history of pharmaceutical involvement surrounding the use of this term. The term overactive bladder is only 15 years old, but its invention and history drastically changed the way we discuss and treat voiding dysfunction, and its definition or perhaps, inevitable successor, could very well do the same in years to come.