Abstract
BackgroundUrinary incontinence negatively influences the lives of 25-50% of elderly women, mostly due to feelings of shame and being limited in activities and social interactions. This study explores whether differences exist between types of urinary incontinence (stress, urgency or mixed) and severity of the symptoms, with regard to their effects on generic and condition-specific quality of life.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study among participants of a randomized controlled trial in primary care. A total of 225 women (aged ≥ 55 years) completed a questionnaire (on physical/emotional impact and limitations) and were interviewed for demographic characteristics and co-morbidity. Least squares regression analyses were conducted to estimate differences between types and severity of urinary incontinence with regard to their effect on quality of life.ResultsMost patients reported mixed urinary incontinence (50.7%) and a moderate severity of symptoms (48.9%). Stress urinary incontinence had a lower impact on the emotional domain of condition-specific quality of life compared with mixed urinary incontinence (r = −7.81). There were no significant associations between the types of urinary incontinence and generic quality of life. Severe symptoms affected both the generic (r = −0.10) and condition-specific (r = 17.17) quality of life.ConclusionsThe effects on condition-specific quality of life domains differ slightly between the types of incontinence. The level of severity affects both generic and condition-specific quality of life, indicating that it is not the type but rather the severity of urinary incontinence that is the main predictor of decreased quality of life.
Highlights
Urinary incontinence negatively influences the lives of 25-50% of elderly women, mostly due to feelings of shame and being limited in activities and social interactions
Urinary incontinence is a common condition in women
The URINO project is a cluster randomized controlled trial in which the patients’ general practitioners (GPs) serve as the clusters; the patients were randomized into an intervention group and a control group
Summary
Urinary incontinence negatively influences the lives of 25-50% of elderly women, mostly due to feelings of shame and being limited in activities and social interactions. This study explores whether differences exist between types of urinary incontinence (stress, urgency or mixed) and severity of the symptoms, with regard to their effects on generic and condition-specific quality of life. The International Continence Society defines urinary incontinence as ‘a complaint of any involuntary leakage of urine’ [2]. The consequences of urinary incontinence may be considerable, often causing embarrassment, stress, frustration, loss of dignity, depressive feelings and limitations in activities because of (fear of ) leakage of urine [5,6]. Urinary incontinence has a negative effect on a woman’s physical and sexual life, but may impede her social interactions due to insecurity about her own hygiene [3]
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