Comparison of Urinary Incontinence in Older White and Black Women: A Pilot Study.

This pilot-cross sectional study compared Urinary Incontinence symptom type and severity, and impact of UI on Quality of Life among older White and Black women. Outcome measures included a three-day bladder diary (3dbd), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form (IIQ-7), Urinary Distress Inventory Short Form (UDI-6), Medical Epidemiological Social Aspects of Ageing (MESA) questionnaire, and Patient Global Impact of Severity Scale (PGI-S). Participants' characteristics and UI outcomes were analysed with descriptive statistics, Fisher's Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. Twenty women (10 White, and 10 Black) with mean age of 76.5 (± 4.9 years) participated in the study. There were no significant differences in most UI symptoms based on 3dbd, MESA, PGI-S, UDI-6, and IIQ-7. However, older Black women reported moderate and/or severe impact of UI on their emotional health more frequently (n=7, 70%) compared to White women (n=1, 10%, p=0.02) based on the IIQ-7.