Urinary incontinence: prevalence, pattern, and opportunistic screening in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Urinary incontinence is a source of health-related poor quality of life. It is, however, rarely disclosed, except when specifically enquired about by the healthcare provider. This study determined the prevalence of urinary incontinence and opportunistic screening for it in women attending a general outpatient clinic.

A total of 1,250 consenting women attending a general outpatient clinic in Ile-Ife, a semi-urban town in Southwest Nigeria, were recruited into this cross-sectional study. Confidential post-consultation interviews were performed in each patient to determine whether they had been asked about urinary incontinence and whether they felt that they ought to have been asked. The Questionnaire for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID) was administered to determine the prevalence and pattern of urinary incontinence. Results were expressed as proportions and compared using the Chi-squared test.

The subjects' ages ranged from 20 to 100 years (mean = 46.8 ± 17.7 years). Sixty-five women had urinary incontinence (prevalence = 5.2 %). QUID classified 30 (2.4 %), 23 (1.8 %), and 12 (1.0 %) of them as having urge, stress, and mixed incontinence respectively. None of them self-reported incontinence to their physicians. Only 9 incontinent (13.8 %) and 44 continent women (3.7 %) had opportunistic screening (p < 0.001). Fifty of the incontinent women (76.9 %) felt that their physician ought to have asked them about it. Forty-eight of them (73.8 %) did not consider incontinence a sufficient reason for presentation in hospital, but the majority (90.7 %) desired treatment.

Urinary incontinence was occasionally present, but usually undisclosed by women attending the general outpatient clinic, unless when specifically asked by their physicians. Opportunistic screening is therefore recommended in this setting.