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Purpose: Previous studies have documented elevations in indices of sympathetic activity in cats and humans with interstitial cystitis (IC). To examine potential autonomic dysregulation in IC we examined the effects of a laboratory mental stress challenge on blood pressure and heart rate (HR) in patients with IC and healthy controls., Materials and Methods: A total of 14 female patients with IC and 14 age matched controls participated in a laboratory session, including a 25-minute mental stress challenge. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and HR were measured at intervals before, during and following the stressor. The level of chronic stress, symptom severity and pain at voiding were assessed., Results: Mean age was 49 years (range 32 to 66). The resting HR of patients with IC (82.02 bpm) was significantly higher than that of controls (63.31 bpm, p = 0.0001). There was also suggested evidence of elevated resting DBP in patients with IC (p = 0.07) but no significant difference in mean resting SBP. Autonomic arousal elicited by the laboratory stressor did not differ between the groups and subjects in each group perceived the task as equally stressful. Patients with IC had significantly elevated HR at each time point compared with controls (p <0.0001) with an average mean difference +/- SD between the groups of 19.5 +/- 4.0 (main effect for group p <0.0001). Although consistent increases in SBP and DBP were observed in patients after baseline, these differences were not significant., Conclusions: Patients with IC had an increased HR at baseline and throughout a laboratory mental stress challenge compared to healthy age matched women. No differences in HR or blood pressure reactivity were observed between the 2 groups.

Objectives. Stress-related exacerbation of interstitial cystitis (IC) symptoms has frequently been reported. Previous research has found stress-related IC symptom exacerbation in an experimental model. However, this relationship has not been objectively examined with daily life stressors. We used a prospective daily symptom diary method to investigate the relationships among stress and bladder symptoms in patients with IC and age-matched healthy controls.Methods. Forty-five previously diagnosed female patients with IC completed a bladder symptom and stress diary nightly for 1 month; 31 female age-matched healthy controls completed a similar diary for 7 days. The symptom questions were modified from the Interstitial Cystitis Data Base study.Results. Patients reported greater mean daily stress, bladder pain, urgency, and daytime and nocturnal frequency than controls (all P values less than 0.001). Among all patients, a significant relationship between stress and urgency was observed. In addition, a significant relationship between stress and pain was observed among patients with moderate and severe disease. As the disease severity increased, more pronounced relationships between stress and the symptoms of urgency and pain were evidenced. Greater stress was associated with greater nocturnal frequency among patients with more severe disease. These stress-symptom relationships were not observed among the controls.Conclusions. Higher levels of stress were related to greater pain and urgency in patients with IC but not in the controls. In addition, the relationship of stress and these IC symptoms was stronger among patients with more severe disease. The results indicate that life stress is associated with greater IC symptoms, particularly among patients whose disease is not well controlled.