Porto Marta G, Marôco João, Mascarenhas Teresa, Vergamota Patrícia, Queiroz-Garcia Inês, Pimenta Filipa
William James Center for Research, Ispa - Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal.
INTREPID LAB, ECEO, Universidade Lusófona & CETRAD, Lisboa, Portugal.
World J Urol. 2025 Jul 12;43(1):430. doi: 10.1007/s00345-025-05822-y.
Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent yet underreported condition among middle-aged women, with its symptom severity significantly impacting Workplace Productivity (WP). This study aimed to explore the impact of UI symptom severity on the WP of middle-aged women and to investigate the proportion of women who refrain from seeking medical treatment.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,214 Portuguese women aged 40-65 (M=49.97; SD=6.737), actively employed and self-reporting occasional/frequent urine loss. All data analyses were done with IBM SPSS Statistics and IBM SPSS AMOS. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze associations while adjusting for confounders such as age, education, menopausal status, BMI, and perceived sleep quality.
The predictive model showed an acceptable fit (CFI = 0.921; TLI = 0.850; RMSEA = 0.076; SRMR = 0.049). Higher UI symptom severity significantly predicted greater WP impairment (β = 0.440; p <.001). Age (β= - 0.107; p =.002) and education (β= - 0.061; p =.020) were associated with a lower impact of UI on WP, while poor sleep quality was associated with greater WP impairment (β = 0.121; p =.006). Notably, 60% of participants experiencing had not contacted a doctor regarding their symptoms, and 72.7% had never undergone treatment for UI.
UI symptom severity negatively impacts WP, yet most affected women do not seek treatment. More effective workplace-based online interventions and accessible UI management strategies are essential to mitigating these effects. Future research should also incorporate objective clinical assessments and explore interventions tailored to different UI subtypes.
尿失禁（UI）在中年女性中极为普遍，但报告率较低，其症状严重程度对工作场所生产力（WP）有显著影响。本研究旨在探讨UI症状严重程度对中年女性WP的影响，并调查未寻求治疗的女性比例。
对1214名年龄在40 - 65岁（M = 49.97；SD = 6.737）的葡萄牙在职女性进行了一项横断面研究，她们自我报告偶尔/频繁漏尿。所有数据分析均使用IBM SPSS Statistics和IBM SPSS AMOS完成。进行结构方程建模（SEM）以分析关联，同时调整年龄、教育程度、绝经状态、BMI和感知睡眠质量等混杂因素。
预测模型显示拟合度可接受（CFI = 0.921；TLI = 0.850；RMSEA = 0.076；SRMR = 0.049）。较高的UI症状严重程度显著预测了更大的WP损害（β = 0.440；p <.001）。年龄（β = - 0.107；p =.002）和教育程度（β = - 0.061；p =.020）与UI对WP的较低影响相关，而睡眠质量差与更大的WP损害相关（β = 0.121；p =.006）。值得注意的是，60%有症状的参与者未就其症状联系过医生，7２.7%从未接受过UI治疗。
UI症状严重程度对WP有负面影响，但大多数受影响的女性未寻求治疗。更有效的基于工作场所的在线干预和可及的UI管理策略对于减轻这些影响至关重要。未来的研究还应纳入客观的临床评估，并探索针对不同UI亚型的干预措施。
