NOCTURIA AS AN UNDERESTIMATED PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM: SLEEP, PSYCHOSOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BURDEN, AND DIGITAL MONITORING

Kamila Zmysłowska; Jan Mateusz Kiersztyn; Anna Szatkowska; Malwina Kwaśniewska; Adam Hajdaniak; Aleksandra Grabowska; Natalia Seńcio; Klaudia Aleksandra Stadnik

doi:10.31435/ijitss.3(51).2026.6630

Authors

Kamila Zmysłowska Nicolaus Copernicus Voivodeship Hospital in Koszalin, Tytusa Chałubińskiego 7, 75-581 Koszalin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2413-0806
Jan Mateusz Kiersztyn Dr Jurasz University Hospital No.1 in Bydgoszcz, Marii Skłodowskiej Curie 9, 85-094, Bydgoszcz, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4714-0868
Anna Szatkowska Jan Mikulicz-Radecki University Hospital in Wrocław, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9970-3354
Malwina Kwaśniewska Nicolaus Copernicus Voivodeship Hospital in Koszalin, Tytusa Chałubińskiego 7, 75-581 Koszalin, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0775-8174
Adam Hajdaniak Jan Mikulicz-Radecki University Hospital in Wrocław, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wrocław, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1401-3122
Aleksandra Grabowska Regional Hospital in Kołobrzeg, Edmunda Łopuskiego 31-33, 78-100 Kołobrzeg, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6112-1260
Natalia Seńcio Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Collegium Maius, Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznań, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4358-7511
Klaudia Aleksandra Stadnik Regional Hospital in Szczecinek, Tadeusza Kościuszki 38, 78-400 Szczecinek, Poland https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2601-3813

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.3(51).2026.6630

Keywords:

Nocturia, Sleep Disruption, Quality of Life, Work Productivity, Social Participation, Digital Health

Abstract

Nocturia is prevalent among adults, yet it remains frequently overlooked and underestimated. It is one of the most common lower urinary tract symptoms, but its consequences extend well beyond the urinary tract. This critical narrative review examines nocturia as a public-health problem across sleep, psychological well-being, family and social participation, work, safety, economic burden, and digital monitoring. Targeted backward citation checking was undertaken, with priority given to population studies, systematic reviews, qualitative research, trials with patient-relevant endpoints, guidelines, and large observational datasets. Clinically significant nocturia, commonly operationalized as at least two voids per night, becomes more frequent with age but also affects working-age adults. Objective sleep studies show graded deterioration in sleep continuity as nocturnal voiding increases. Longer time to the first void is associated with longer sleep, and improvements in the first uninterrupted sleep period track with better perceived sleep quality. Nocturia is also associated with a broad range of psychological difficulties, although causal direction remains uncertain. Qualitative, workplace, and claims studies show that burden is transferred across households, employers, and health systems; falls add a safety concern in older adults. Electronic bladder diaries and wearables can improve longitudinal characterization, but direct evidence that monitoring itself improves nocturia-specific outcomes remains limited. A holistic approach to nocturia as a public-health problem is therefore needed. Episode count remains necessary and important, but it should be interpreted alongside sleep continuity, bother, and next-day function.

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