Incidence and Correlates of Urinary Incontinence in Women

Yoon, Hae Sang; Ro, You Za

Abstract

Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary and inappropriate loss of urine to failure to emit normal responses as the bladder fills, or inability to reach the bathroom in sufficient time. This study was undertaken to estimate the incidence of urinary incontinence and to determine the correlates of urinary incontinence among women. Subjects of this survey consisted of 408 women, 26 to 83 years old in Incheon. The results of this study are follows. 1. Of the subjects 50.7% reported urine loss once or twice per year and 28.5% reported incontinence on a regular basis at least once per month. 2. 40.5% of women reported small volume accidents of only 1 to 2drops, 31.4% ; 1t-spoon, 16.9% ; 1T-spoon, while 10.1% of women couldn't estimate the volume of urine loss. 3. The volume of urine loss was great enough to require a change of garment(undergarments or outer garments) in 73%. But only 3.8% of those used some type of pads. 4. 56.5% of incontinent women didn't talk about their urinary incontinence with other persons because they felt that urinary incontinence was shameful(38.4%), was not a disease(31.6%), was incurable in spite of treatment(27.4%) and was fearful of being uncured(2.6%). 5. Only 15.5% of urinary incontinent women had sought treatment. 6. The incidence of urinary incontinence was significantly higher in women who had more pariety and uterine-ovarian disease, older age, worrying about where toilets were when they visited new places or voiding anxiety, nocturia and frequency, but was significantly lower in women who had coffee intake. The incidence of urinary incontinence was not related to smoking and enuresis. The results indicate that urinary incontinence is common among young and middle-aged women. That few seek treatment for urinary incontinence suggests a need for more information about women's attitudes toward urinary incontinence and more attention to this problem by health care providers.