Abstract
BackgroundWomen frequently complain of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during pregnancy due to multiple physiological and potentially pathological changes. Still, there is limited data on the characteristics of LUTS for pregnant women in Palestine. Therefore, this study was designed to assess LUTS among pregnant women in Palestine, in addition to identifying factors that exacerbate LUTS during pregnancy.MethodsWe devised a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study that used the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI) and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) tools to assess LUTS during pregnancy in an antenatal care clinic setting. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to determine variables that significantly related to LUTS (UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores as dependent variables).ResultsThe study recruited 306 pregnant women. Regarding LUTS findings, the participants scored a mean of 31.9 ± 24.9 out of 100 points (6.7 ± 5.2 out of 21) for the IIQ-7 scale and a mean of 31.2 ± 19.2 out of 100 points (5.6 ± 3.4 out of 18) for the UDI-6 scale. Regression analysis showed that older women (p = 0.031), women with a higher body mass index (p < 0.001), and women in the third trimester of pregnancy (p = 0.023), were independently associated with high UDI score. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that obese and overweight patients (p = 0.006) and multiparity (p = 0.026) were independently associated with high IIQ score.ConclusionsHigh body mass index is independently associated with both UDI and IIQ scores for LUTS. Several strategies should be arranged to raise the awareness of females of childbearing age in Palestine regarding LUTS during pregnancy and factors which may exacerbate LUTS, such as obesity and multiparity. Thus, preventive measures should be implemented, such as serial assessment of LUTS during antenatal care to respond timely to this frequent problem.
Highlights
Women frequently complain of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during pregnancy due to multiple physiological and potentially pathological changes
Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine variables that were significantly related to LUTS assessment findings (UDI-6 and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ)-7 scores as dependent variables)
The age group that contained the largest percentages of participants (40.5%) was 18–25 years, and around 46% filled in the normal body mass index (BMI) group
Summary
Women frequently complain of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during pregnancy due to multiple physiological and potentially pathological changes. There is limited data on the characteristics of LUTS for pregnant women in Palestine. The urogenital apparatus undergoes multiple physiological and potentially pathological changes throughout pregnancy [1]. These changes may interfere with pregnant women’s daily activities and limit their social and physical lifestyle [2, 3]. LUTS and related underlying conditions can cause major disruption to a pregnant female’s daily activities and interfere with their work, exercise, and social life [10,11,12,13,14,15]. The level of awareness should be raised to encourage pregnant females to report their symptoms early, allowing proper evaluation and counselling [17]
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