OBJECTIVE To explain what role urinary urgency has on urinary frequency in patients with overactive bladder (OAB). MATERIALS AND METHODS We prospectively enrolled 102 patients with OAB over a 6-week period. Patients were assessed with the OAB-q and a pilot questionnaire to identify which urinary symptoms were most bothersome and what underlying cause subjects attributed urinary frequency to. Associations between epidemiologic characteristics, OAB-q scores, and subject responses to the pilot questionnaire, were examined for statistical significance with the Pearson chi square test. RESULTS The study population comprised 85% women and 15% men, with mean age 67.4 years and mean OAB-q score 54. Subjects reported their most bothersome symptom was: frequency 24.5%, urgency or urgency incontinence 48.0%, nocturia 27.5%. Of the patients most bothered by frequency, 64% identified the International Continence Society definition of urgency or "fear of leakage" as the underlying reason for their frequency. Overall, 82.4% and 48.0% of patients reported urgency or urgency incontinence as a symptom and most bothersome symptom respectively. However, when patients were specifically asked what drives their urinary frequency, these percentages increased to 89.2% and 63.7%. CONCLUSION This pilot study confirms that urgency is a large factor underlying the drive to void frequently in OAB, even when patients do not admit to urgency as the most bothersome symptom. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc.