School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences, Charles Sturt University, PO Box 789, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia.
Tactical Research Unit, Bond University, Robina, Australia.
Int Urogynecol J. 2023 Apr;34(4):885-896. doi: 10.1007/s00192-022-05254-x. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are common in the general female population. It was hypothesised that Australian female military personnel and veterans would experience similar types and prevalence of LUTS as the broader Australian female population.
An online cross-sectional survey was utilised to explore the pelvic health of active servicewomen and veterans in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). For the purposes of this report, only the demographic and LUTS data (excluding urinary tract infections) were extracted and descriptively analysed.
A total of 491 complete survey responses were received and analysed. Respondent characteristics were comparable to those documented in a departmental report regarding ADF servicewomen. No LUTS were reported by 38% of respondents. Regular symptoms of urinary incontinence were experienced by 27% of respondents (stress urinary incontinence = 23%, urge urinary incontinence = 16%, mixed urinary incontinence = 13%), bladder storage issues by 20-27%, and various voiding impairments by 9-27%. In addition, 41% reported regularly experiencing two or more LUTS, and for over two thirds of respondents, LUTS were an ongoing issue. Relationships between age, parity, and symptoms of urinary incontinence were also seen.
Consistent with wider research in Australian female populations, LUTS were commonly experienced during service by ADF female military personnel and veterans. Given the high likelihood of female military personnel experiencing LUTS during their service, and a proportion experiencing ongoing symptoms, tailored monitoring and support for urinary health should be available to enhance occupational health, safety, and performance.
下尿路症状（LUTS）在普通女性人群中很常见。有人假设，澳大利亚女性军人和退伍军人会经历与更广泛的澳大利亚女性人群相似类型和流行程度的 LUTS。
利用在线横断面调查来探讨澳大利亚国防军（ADF）现役女兵和退伍军人的盆腔健康状况。就本报告而言，仅提取和描述性分析了人口统计学和 LUTS 数据（不包括尿路感染）。
共收到并分析了 491 份完整的调查回复。受访者的特征与 ADF 女兵部门报告中记录的特征相似。38%的受访者没有报告 LUTS。27%的受访者经常出现尿失禁症状（压力性尿失禁=23%，急迫性尿失禁=16%，混合性尿失禁=13%），20-27%的受访者有膀胱储存问题，9-27%的受访者有各种排尿障碍。此外，41%的受访者报告经常出现两种或两种以上的 LUTS，超过三分之二的受访者的 LUTS 是持续存在的问题。还观察到年龄、生育次数与尿失禁症状之间的关系。
与澳大利亚女性人群更广泛的研究一致，ADF 女性军人和退伍军人在服役期间经常经历 LUTS。鉴于女性军人在服役期间很可能会经历 LUTS，并且有一部分人会持续出现症状，因此应该为她们提供针对尿失禁健康的专门监测和支持，以增强职业健康、安全和表现。
