[Urinary incontinence in non-professional female marathon runners]

To determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence within a population of female recreational runners during a marathon.

Observational study carried on a marathon from the analysis of questionnaire handed to the participants before the beginning of the marathon. The questionnaire was handed to 800 participants and among them, 517 (64.6%) agreed to fill it. Among the participants, 268 (52.4%) were marathon runners and 243 (47.5%) were relay runners.

Mean age of the runners was 41.1 (±9.7), 479 (93.7%) of them were caucasian, mean body mass index was 20,7 (±1.9) kg/m(2) and 173 (34%) were nulliparous. Among responders, 157 (30.7%) runners declared to have urinary incontinence symptoms (any circumstances). Among 157 runners who declared an urinary incontinence, 83 (52,9%) presented with urinary leaks during the running. In half of the cases, these urinary leaks usually arose at the end of race. Urinary incontinence during coughing, sneezing or laughing was reported by 96/517 (18,5%) women. The prevalence of urge urinary incontinence was 63/517 (12%). Concerning the frequency of urinary incontinence, 39/517 (7.5%) women reported at least once weekly. For urinary incontinence bother, scores on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS 0 to 100) was 1.6 (±1.7).

In this series, the prevalence of urinary incontinence was 30.7% within a population of female recreational runners. This rate seems to be similar to the current prevalence in the general population.