J Korean Acad Fundam Nurs.  2007 Nov;14(4):483-492.

Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life of Married Women with Urinary Incontinence Living in the Community

• Song YS
• Son YJ
• Hong SK
• Song JE
• Cho HK

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare anxiety, depression and quality of life according to the severity of urinary incontinence in married women. METHOD: The participants were 168 married women aged 30-65 years who experienced urinary incontinence. The data were collected from May to July, 2006 using a structured questionnaire. Frequencies, percent, means and standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, chi-square-test and Scheffe test with SPSS win 14.0 program were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS
The distribution of urinary incontinence severity was mild 87.5%, or moderate 12.5%. Significant differences in the severity of urinary incontinence were found for the general characteristics of age, education level, having a job and having a spouse and for the obstetric characteristics of type of delivery, and menopause. Differences in the score for anxiety (t=-2.41, p=0.001) and quality of life (t=5.50, p<0.001) according to the severity of urinary incontinence were statistically significant.
CONCLUSION
Women with moderate to severe urinary incontinence should be screened for psychosocial factors. Severity of urinary incontinence in married women negatively affects their quality of life. Further research is needed to determine factors predicting the quality of life for incontinent women.

Keyword

Women; Urinary Incontinence; Anxiety; Depression; Quality of life

MeSH Terms

Anxiety*
Depression*
Education
Female
Humans
Menopause
Psychology
Quality of Life*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Spouses
Urinary Incontinence*