Association of diabetic retinopathy stage with the severity of female urinary incontinence

To assess the relation between diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity and urinary incontinence (UI) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM).

This prospective and observational study included 153 subjects. Patients were divided into three subgroups, according to severity of DR, as: No-DR, nonproliferative DR (NPDR), and proliferative DR (PDR); 40 age-matched healthy subjects formed the control group. Turkish version of the Urogenital Stress Inventory 6 (UDI-6) and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7) were used to assess the UI symptoms and their effect on quality of life. The UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores were the primary outcomes of the study.

No significant difference was observed between groups regarding age, maternal parity, body mass index, type of delivery, menopausal status, and smoking. The mean UDI-6 urgency UI questions score was significantly higher in the PDR group and significantly higher in the NPDR group than in the control group. The mean UDI-6 stress UI questions score was similar between groups. The mean UDI-6 voiding difficulty questions score was significantly higher in the PDR group and no significant difference was observed between other groups. The mean IIQ-7 score was significantly lower in the PDR group. A moderate and positive correlation was found between glycated hemoglobin level and the UDI-6 urgency UI and voiding difficulty questions and total scores. A weak and positive correlation was found between the duration of DM and the all UDI-6 scores.

The present study showed that UI symptoms and their effect on QOL were more severe in patients with PDR.