The prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence and its influence on the quality of life among Egyptian women.

AIMS

The exact magnitude of the problem of urinary incontinence (UI) in Egypt is not yet reported. We studied the prevalence and potential risk factors associated with UI among a group of Egyptian women as taken from a representative sample from the population.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional, community-based study.

SETTING

Assiut, Upper Egypt, Egypt.

PARTICIPANTS

women, aged 20 years and older, selected randomly from the population.

MEASUREMENTS

PARTICIPANTS completed a previously validated questionnaire; Urogenital Distress Inventory-short form (UDI-6).

RESULTS

A total of 1,652 women were included. The prevalence of UI among our study subjects is 54.8%. Aging, low educational level, menopause, higher parity (>3), vaginal delivery, and previous multiple abortions (>3) were found to be significantly associated with UI. The prevalence of urge, stress and mixed incontinence, mutually exclusive of each other, was 15%, 14.8%, and 25%, respectively. The prevalence of severe incontinence is 8.4%. Regarding the quality of life, the most distressing issues for sufferers were their inability to pray (90%).

CONCLUSIONS

UI is quite common in Egypt and prevalence rates are higher when compared to other reports.