Urinary incontinence linked to functional, social limitations

Urinary incontinence (UI) in women appears to be strongly associated with future disability, especially in the domains of mobility and social interaction, according to a study.

For the study, researchers used data from the multicentre, prospective cohort Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which involved more than 1,800 participants.

Multivariable ordinal logistic regression was used to examine UI type, frequency, and amount at the 13th follow-up in relation to the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule at the 15th follow-up. Potential confounding factors such as menopause status, body mass index, lifestyle and psychosocial factors, and disability at follow-up 13 were included in the analysis.

UI showed a significant association with reports of disability in participants, particularly in the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule domains of mobility (p<0.0001), communication (p=0.0057), and life activities (p=0.0407) after approximately 3.7 years.

The strongest associations were found for mixed UI type (vs stress UI or urgency UI: odds ratio [OR], 1.66, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.26–2.17; p<0.001), daily UI frequency (vs monthly or less than weekly: OR, 1.61, 95 percent CI, 1.04–2.47; p<0.001), and larger amounts of urine leakage (vs drops of leakage: OR, 2.98, 95 percent CI, 1.58–5.62; p<0.0001) for mobility/getting around domain.

The findings underscore the potential of screening for mixed UI and UI that occurs greater than weekly and in amounts requiring pads to determine an individual’s future disability risk.