Impact of urinary incontinence on anxiety status during pregnancy: A prospective case-control study

To evaluate the impact of the presence and severity of urinary incontinence (UI) on pregnancy-related anxiety.

This prospective case-control study included 160 pregnant women. Pregnant women with UI (n = 80) were compared with continent pregnant women (n = 80; control group) in terms of scores on the Incontinence Consultation Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) and the Pregnancy-related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised 2 (PRAQ-R2) scale. Gynaecological examination was performed, and pelvic organ prolapse was diagnosed using the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system. UI was classified as stress UI (SUI), urge UI (UUI) or mixed UI (MUI).

The total PRAQ-R2 score was significantly higher in all pregnant women with UI, as well as the UI subgroups, compared with the control group [mean ± standard deviation; 21.77 ± 8.1 (UI), 19.39 ± 6 (SUI), 20.13 ± 7.2 (UUI) and 28.1 ± 9.5 (MUI) vs 15.76 ± 5.9 (control group); p < 0.0001, p = 0.002, p = 0.012 and p < 0.0001, respectively). Significant positive correlation was found between the total ICIQ-SF and total PRAQ-R2 scores (r = 0.533; p < 0.0001). The score for the fear of giving birth domain in PRAQ-R2 was higher in women with SUI and MUI compared with the control group (9.5 ± 4 and 11.1 ± 2.6 vs 5.43 ± 2.4; p < 0.0001). Concern about own appearance was greater in the UUI and MUI groups compared with the control group (9.68 ± 4.5 and 7.8 ± 3.1 vs 4.85 ± 2.3; p < 0.0001).

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to report the impact of the presence and severity of UI on pregnancy-related anxiety. The current findings show that anxiety may be an important psychosocial consequence of UI in pregnancy. This may lead to a clinical approach focusing on both the physical and psychological well-being of pregnant women with UI.