[Urinary incontinence in women and its impact on quality of life]

The prevalence of urinary incontinence at a young age is 20-30%, gradually increasing to 40% among older women. Urinary incontinence affects many areas of the patient's life, including social, psychological, work, sexual, etc. The main causative factors, which also influence on its severity, include age, pregnancy, childbirth and obesity. To date, there are many treatment methods for stress urinary incontinence. However, more preference is given to the sling procedures, in which mesh is placed under the middle part of the urethra. Despite being the "gold" standard for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence, it is difficult to determine indications for surgical treatment, since "nonmedical" view of the patient's problem is often required. The low awareness of primary care physicians about the possibilities of treating urinary incontinence often leads to an erroneous opinion in patients about their disease and methods of treatment. Many patients regard this condition as an integral part of aging, avoid situations in which urinary incontinence is possible, which limits daily activities, sexual activity, sports and other areas of life. Based on the latest data, a review of the literature on urinary incontinence in women, risk factors, as well as existing methods of surgical correction are presented in the lecture. Particular attention is paid to the impact of urinary incontinence on the quality of life of patients and current methods for its assessment.