Effects of unsupervised behavioral and pelvic floor muscle training programs on nocturia, urinary urgency, and urinary frequency in postmenopausal women: Secondary analysis of a randomized, two-arm, parallel design, superiority trial (TULIP study).

Objective: To determine and compare the effects of an unsupervised behavioral and pelvic floor muscle training (B-PFMT) program delivered in two formats on nocturia, urinary urgency, and urinary frequency in postmenopausal women.

Study Design: A secondary analysis used data collected from women enrolled in the TULIP study. Women aged 55 years or more with no urinary incontinence were provided the B-PFMT program. Each woman was randomly assigned to a face-to-face class that took about 2 h (2-hrClass) or to a DVD showing essentially the same information as a 20-minute video (20-minVideo). All women were instructed to independently continue the program following their education session. Three urinary outcomes were assessed at baseline, 3, 12, and 24 months.

Main Outcome Measures: Nocturia and urinary urgency were examined with one item each from the questionnaire-based voiding diary, and urinary frequency was assessed with patients' self-documenting 3-day bladder diary.

Results: Women in the 2-hrClass group experienced significantly fewer nocturia episodes and longer average inter-void interval at each follow-up and fewer urinary urgency episodes at 12 months. Women in the 20-minVideo group experienced significantly fewer episodes of nocturia and urinary urgency and longer average inter-void interval at each follow-up time point. No significant between-group differences were found for any outcome, except for nocturia at 24 months, when effectiveness favored women in the 20-minVideo group.

Conclusions: Unsupervised B-PFMT programs are effective for improving postmenopausal women's urinary outcomes regardless of the format. The optimal format to deliver B-PFMT programs in terms of effectiveness should be explored in future studies.