Urology Journal

Background There is increasing evidence that gut microbiota is associated with the risk of kidney stones diseases (KSD), but whether a causal relationship exists remains unclear. We used the Mendelian randomization (MR) method to assess the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and KSD risk.

Methods Genetic tool variables for the gut microbiota were identified from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 18340 participants. Summary statistics for KSD were derived from GWAS, including 484,598 cases and 480,873 normal controls. We used the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method as the primary analysis method.  To test the robustness of our results, we further performed the weighted-median method, MR-Egger regression, and MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier test. Finally, reverse MR analysis was performed to evaluate the possibility of reverse causation.

Results We identified suggestive associations between four bacterial traits and the risk of KSD (odds ratio (OR): 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.98, p= 0.032 for class. Lentisphaeria； OR：0.79, 95% CI：0.66-0.96, p=0.018 for genus. Oscillibacter； OR：0.82, 95% CI：0.68-0.98, p=0.034 for order. Victivallales； OR：1.26, 95% CI：1.03-1.53, p=0.022 for genus. Olsenella). The results of sensitivity analyses for these bacterial traits were consistent. We did not find statistically significant associations between KSD and these four bacterial traits in the reverse MR analysis.

Conclusions Our systematic analysis provides evidence supporting a potential causal relationship between four gut microbiota taxa （including class. Lentisphaeria, genus. Oscillibacter, order. Victivallales and genus. Olsenella）and KSD risk. More studies are needed to demonstrate how gut microbiota influences KSD development.

Purpose: Urinary incontinence (UI)  is characterized by any involuntary loss of urine, which can result in significant hygiene, emotional, and social challenges for individuals. This review and meta-analysis aimed to update the current understanding of the prevalence of UI and overactive bladder(OAB)  among Iranian women.

Materials and Methods: We conducted an electronic search of databases included PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Medline, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Biosis from January 1990 to february 2026. We targeted  women aged 15 years and over who are living in Iran and used a set of keywords, including UI, Stress Urinary Incontinence , Urge Urinary Incontinence , Mixed Urinary Incontinence , OAB, epidemiology, prevalence, frequency, women, and Iran. A total of 23 cross-sectional studies were included in the review, with 22 articles, encompassing 27,690 participants. The quality of the studies was assessed using “Methodological guidance for systematic reviews of observational epidemiological studies reporting prevalence and cumulative incidence data from the Joanna Briggs Institute.” The I² index was used to estimate quantitative heterogeneity. Since the results showed high heterogeneity, the random-effects model was used. We used Egger’s test to evaluate the publication bias of the selected studies. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software of MedCalc.

Results: This study estimated the overall prevalence of UI to be 39.98% (95% CI: 30.54–49.82). The most prevalent subtype was SUI, affecting 26.88% (95% CI: 20.00–34.37) of women. OAB  and UUI affected 20.13% (95% CI: 15.70–24.95) and 17.09% (95% CI: 9.38–26.55) of women, respectively. Furthermore, MUI followed, with a prevalence of 14.99% (95% CI: 6.62–25.98).

Conclusion: Considering the relatively high prevalence of UI and OAB among Iranian women, further research is needed to explore the underlying factors and to develop effective prevention, management, and treatment strategies in society. A clearer underestanding of the epidmiology of   UI and OAB can support the health policy planning and development of responsive healthcare services.