Factors influencing self-perceived disease severity in women with stress urinary incontinence combined with or without urge incontinence.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of patient-perceived disease severity (PPDS) on the quality of life (QoL) of women with urinary incontinence (UI) and to identify factors predicting PPDS.

METHODS

A total of 109 women (mean age 54.9; range 31-77) with stress UI combined with or without urge UI were included in the primary analyses. The incontinence quality of life (I-QoL) devised during the course of this study was used to assess the QOL impact of UI.

RESULTS

PPDS of women with UI increased as I-QoL scores decreased (P<0.001). When analyzed by patient characteristics and objective test results, PPDS increased only with the number of episodes (P=0.005) and pad test weight increased (P=0.010). By multivariate regression analysis, patients who complained of UI "three to four times a day or more" had 6.4-fold higher risk (P=0.027) of perceiving that their symptoms were more severe than those who complained of a UI "one to two times per week or less." Patients with a pad test weight of >25 g had a 4.7-fold higher risk of perceiving their symptoms were more severe than those with a pad test weight of <15 g.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the frequency of UI episodes and the volume of urine loss are associated with PPDS. In addition, the I-QoL scores deteriorated significantly as the PPDS of incontinence increased. Thus, PPDS may impact on the QoL of women with stress UI combined with or without urge UI.