Abstract
Objective: To investigate the association between diabetic neuropathy and lower urinary tract symptoms in people with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Integrative literature review, which followed six steps. The search took place in October 2019, on the Virtual Health Library Portal and the National Library of Medicine, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online Scopus databases, using the Boolean descriptors and operators “urinary incontinence”, “diabetes mellitus” and “diabetic neuropathies”. The inclusion criteria were publications from 2009 to 2019, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Results: Of the 52 studies from the search, eight made up the final sample and women were the majority in the studies. The diabetic neuropathy was associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, with urinary incontinence, urge incontinence, nocturia, overactive bladder and female sexual dysfunction. Obesity, white race, time and uncontrolled disease were factors associated with urinary symptoms. Final considerations: The assessment of the protective sensitivity of the feet and early detection of neuropathies offers an opportunity for the prevention of lower urinary tract symptoms. The limitations of this study were the methodological heterogeneity of the articles, the search strategy and the lack of data regarding the male gender.