Effect of vitamin D supplementation on the severity of stress urinary incontinence in premenopausal women with vitamin D insufficiency: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Abstract

BackgroundUrinary incontinence, especially stress urinary incontinence (SUI), is one of the problems experienced by premenopausal women. Given the role of vitamin D in enhancing muscle strength and function, this study explored the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on SUI in premenopausal women.MethodsA randomized controlled trial was performed with 60 premenopausal women referring to Kerman gynecological clinic in 2020 and 2021. Eligible women received a 5000-unit vitamin D supplement or placebo weekly for 3 months. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-SF) was utilized to assess SUI severity before and after the intervention. The t-test, Chi-square test, and repeated measures ANOVA were carried out in SPSS software (version 22) to analyze the data. P-values smaller than 0.05 were considered significant.ResultsBefore the intervention, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in SUI severity (P = 0.652) and the impact of SUI severity on premenopausal women’s lives (P = 0.804). In contrast, after 8-12 weeks of vitamin D supplementation, these scores decreased significantly in the intervention group relative to the control group (P < 0.001). In addition, after vitamin D supplementation, the number of SUI and urinary leakage symptoms decreased in the intervention group (P < 0.001).ConclusionVitamin D supplementation improves SUI in premenopausal women.Trial registrationThis trial was registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials; https://fa.irct.ir/trial/53474 (IRCT20190724044318N2) on 11/02/2021.