Int Neurourol J.  2014 Mar;18(1):31-36.

Prevalence, Risk Factors, Quality of Life, and Health-Care Seeking Behaviors of Female Urinary Incontinence: Results From the 4th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2007-2009)

• Kwon CS
• Lee JH

Abstract

PURPOSE
There is a lack of information on female urinary incontinence (UI) in South Korea. We investigated the prevalence, risk factors, quality of life (QoL), and healthcare-seeking behaviors of women with UI.
METHODS
We included 9,873 women over the age of 20 years who had participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey IV. The condition of UI was defined as answering "yes" to the question "Do you have UI?" Additionally, health care seeking behavior for UI was defined as answering "yes" to "Have you ever been treated for UI?' The EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) descriptive system was used to evaluate QoL.
RESULTS
The mean age of our sample was 49.7 years. The overall prevalence of UI was 7.9%. The prevalence of UI significantly increased with age. The rate of healthcare-seeking behavior for UI also significantly increased with age. However, the rate of healthcare seeking for UI was significantly lower when compared to the prevalence of UI. In our multivariate analysis, age, body mass index, and marriage were significantly and independently associated with UI. As the severity of all the subscales of EQ-5D increased, the unadjusted odds ratio for UI also increased. After adjusting for potential confounders, the subscales of mobility, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression from the EQ-5D were significantly associated with UI.
CONCLUSIONS
UI is a common disease and is significantly associated with QoL. Our results suggest the need for developing preventive measures and treatment policies for UI.

Keyword

Urinary incontinence; Epidemiology; Quality of life; Healthcare-seeking behavior

MeSH Terms

Body Mass Index
Delivery of Health Care
Epidemiology
Female*
Humans
Korea
Marriage
Multivariate Analysis
Nutrition Surveys*
Odds Ratio
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Prevalence*
Quality of Life*
Risk Factors*
Urinary Incontinence*