Urinary Incontinence in Premenopausal Women: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Impact on Quality of Life

To determine the prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence (UI), and assess its impact on the quality of life (QOL) in premenopausal women.

In this cross-sectional study, 690 women aged from 18 to 53 were interviewed using a demographic questionnaire and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form.

The overall prevalence of any UI was 27.2%. Of the 188 women reporting UI the types were: stress 36.7%, urgency 32.4% and mixed 30.9%. The mean value of the age and body mass index (BMI) of the cases with UI was statistically significantly higher than the group without UI (P < 0.01). In the premenopausal women of similar age and BMI the incontinence rate was significantly higher in those who had a normal vaginal delivery than those who had a Cesarean section (P < 0.01). In the logistic regression analysis it was determined that the effect on the occurrence of incontinence was as follows in terms of age, education and number of pregnancies; age > 35 years had an odds ratio of 1.896 (95% confidence interval [CI]:1.29-2.80); the effect of the status of not attending a school or only attending primary school had an odds ratio 1.839 (95% CI: 1.23-2.75) and the number of pregnancies > 2 had an odds ratio 1.495 (95% CI:1.00-2.26).

Being older than 35, having a low educational level and a gravida greater than two are the independent risk factors in terms of the occurrence of UI in premenopausal women.