ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1618943
U-shaped association between ultra-processed food intake and overactive bladder in US adults: a national cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted
Zufa Zhang1,2
Li Chen3Long Lv1,4Wenkai Li1,2Bin Hou1,2Sheng Guan1,4Zuyi Chen1,4Danni He1,4Hongxuan Song1,4
Weibing Sun1,4
Feng Tian1,4Fengze Jiang1,4*
Sixiong Jiang1,4*- 1Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China
- 2Zhongshan Clinical Collage of Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
- 3Fuzhou Children's Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
- 4Key Laboratory of Microenvironment Regulation and Immunotherapy of Urinary Tumors of Liaoning Province, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
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The association between ultra-processed food (UPF) intake and overactive bladder (OAB) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between UPF consumption and the risk of OAB in U.S. adults.We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from 23,482 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). UPF intake was assessed in grams/day and kcal/day. Perform a natural logarithmic conversion of the UPF with e as the base. Weighted multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between UPF intake and OAB. Subgroup and interaction analyses were performed to assess effect modification. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to explore potential nonlinear relationships. Threshold effect analyses were conducted to identify inflection points.UPF intake was positively associated with the risk of OAB in both continuous and categorical analyses. A U-shaped nonlinear relationship between UPF intake and OAB risk was identified, with inflection points at 6.33 (grams/day) and 5.73 (kcal/day). Subgroup analyses revealed stronger associations among women, smokers, and overweight or obese individuals. Interaction tests indicated significant modification effects by sex and smoking status.This study suggests a U-shaped association between specific levels of UPF intake and OAB risk among U.S. adults. Further prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and explore the underlying biological mechanisms.
Keywords: OAB, UPF, NHANES, U-shaped, Association, RCS
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Chen, Lv, Li, Hou, Guan, Chen, He, Song, Sun, Tian, Jiang and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fengze Jiang, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China
Sixiong Jiang, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, China
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