Urinary incontinence and work capacity

The purpose of this study was to explore if and how urinary incontinence affects work capacity and work-related quality of life.

This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study using a Danish validated questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to Danish municipal employees.

The questionnaire was completed by 3,182 municipal workers 840 of whom experience urinary incontinence, which is equivalent to 26.4% of all participating municipal employees. Among these, 18.5% worried about their urinary incontinence at work, 14.1% reported that the condition disturbed their working life in a moderate to severe degree and 22% experienced interrupted night sleep caused by urinary incontinence. Physically demanding tasks were avoided by 4.5% of the municipal employees, whereas 1.5% reported sick leave. Finally, 0.5% planned early retirement due to their urinary incontinence.

This study revealed a 26.4% prevalence of urinary incontinence among Danish municipal employees. We conclude that urinary incontinence affected the work-related quality of life with daily worries about accidents, odours, toilet access, fluid intake and interrupted night sleep. Furthermore, in the group reporting urinary incontinence, 1.5% had sick leave and 0.5% changed their retirement plans due to incontinence.

This project was funded by "Satspuljemidler" allocated by the Danish Health Ministry to Kontinensforeningen.

The project is approved by the Danish Data Agency (656336).