The Impact of Urinary Incontinence on the Quality of Life in Women

Kim, Hee Jin; Lee, Hong Soo; Lee, Sang Hwa; Shim, Kyung Won; Suh, Heuy Sun; Kong, Kyoung Ae; Lee, Hae Jung

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence has a negative impact on the lifestyle of sufferers, affecting not only their physical condition but also their well-being. But only few patients visit doctors for treatment. The purpose of this study was to measure the quality of life in women with urinary incontinence.
METHODS
Among the people who visited a tertiary hospital in Seoul for a health exam or primary care during April 2002, we selected 161 women over 20 years old. We measured their quality of life by the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Excel 2000 statistical program was used for statistical analysis.
RESULTS
The active incontinence group, who experienced urinary incontinence within 1 year, were 48 women and the normal group without urinary incontinence at all were 65 women. The average SF-36 score was 76.5 in total women, 69.0 in active incontinence group, and 81.5 in normal group. The percentage of those seeking treatment was 10.4% and 64.6% of women have never sought help.
CONCLUSION
These Results suggest that the incontinent patient had a much lower quality of life than normal women, but there were only few patients who sought treatment.