OBESITY AND AGE AS A RISK FACTORS FOR URINARY INCONTINENCE IN WOMEN

Abstract

According to the International Association for Urinary Incontinence, any involuntary leakage of urine is called urinary incontinence. The objectives of the study were: to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women; to show the relationship between age over 60, obesity and urinary incontinence and to show that age and obesity are potential risk factors for urinary incontinence in women. The study is a prospective cohort study. The material is 312 patients aged 20 to 86 years, divided into two groups: examined and control. In all women we performed: urinary status with urinary sediment, urine culture, cystoscopy, urinary tract ultrasound, urodynamic tests, Marshall tests, questionnaire containing questions on risk factors for urinary incontinence and short consultation form International modular incontinence questionnaire to diagnose and classify urinary incontinence and calculate the Body Mass Index. Analysis of relationships between two series with attributive variables was done using a chi-square test. Analysis of relationships between two series with numerical variables was done using regression analysis and coefficient of linear correlation. The testing of the differences between the compared groups was done with the help of Student's t-test. The relative risk of urinary incontinence was estimated by calculating the Odds Ratio with a 95% Confidence Interval, using logistic regression. Data with p value <0.05 were considered statistically significant. According to the t-test, the percentage difference between the mean ages between the two groups is statistically insignificant for p˃0.05 (p = 0.3295, t = 0.8564, 95% CI: -4.34-6.65). Stress incontinence was detected in 48.40% (91/188) of women, urgent incontinence in 27.13% (51/188) of women, and mixed urinary incontinence in 24.47% (46/188) of women. Data analysis showed an association between urinary incontinence and patients over sixty years of age (chi-square test = 5.5317, p = 0.0202, p<0.05, with a relative risk of 2.89). Data analysis showed an association between urinary incontinence and patients with a body mass index above 35 (chisquare test = 5.8607, p = 0.0067, p<0.05, with a relative risk of 3.19). Our study showed there is an association between age, obesity and urinary incontinence and that age over 60 and obesity are potential risk factors for urinary incontinence in women.