Screening to assess impact of urinary incontinence on QoL and barriers to seeking treatment in North India

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common yet often overlooked issue in women, profoundly affecting their psychosocial well-being. Current estimates seem to underestimate the problem.

The goal of a new study was to determine the prevalence of UI, identify associated risk factors, assess its impact on quality of life (QoL), and explore barriers to seeking treatment among women at tertiary healthcare centers.

This was a cross-sectional study wherein opportunistic screening was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Punjab – using multi-stage systematic random sampling to recruit participants. UI was categorized as stress (SUI), urge (UUI), mixed (MUI), or no incontinence (UI less than once a week/month or no complaints) – based on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). The Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-Short Form (IIQ-7) assessed QoL impacts, and One-Way ANOVA compared the three UI types. Open-ended questions explored treatment barriers.

Among 601 women, 19.6% reported UI. Significant clinical and social factors predicted different UI types. UI notably impacted QoL, with higher IIQ-7 scores in women with UI (mean score: 50.8 ± 21.9) compared to those without (0.1 ± 1.9). MUI had the highest scores, followed by SUI and UUI. Approximately two-thirds of affected women did not seek medical consultation, perceiving UI as non-serious or a normal part of aging.

The findings indicateda high UI prevalence across all age groups. Due to the stigma, clinicians should proactively discuss UI, particularly with women at risk. More robust community-based screening studies are needed to generate accurate estimates. Awareness initiatives are crucial, as many women suffer in silence, believing UI is normal or self-resolving.

Source:Garg P, Goyal LD, Goyal S, et al. BMC Urology. 2024 Mar 2;24(1):50.