Abstract:
Introduction and hypothesis The aims of the present study
were to determine the types of UI among women visiting the
urology department, to identify the potential risk factors associated
with each type of UI, and to identify healthcare-seeking
behaviors of affected women in our region.
Methods The data of 617 community-dwelling women, who
were at least 18 years of age or older and who presented with a
complaint of UI ongoing over a year, and those without UI,
who were admitted for any other reason, from June 2010 to
April 2012, were evaluated.
Results Mean age was 51.29 years (range 18–110 years);
median parity was 3.54 (range 0–11) and 88.2 % of the
women were married. Mean BMI was 28.01 kg/m2
. Very
few women (18.5 %) accepted UI as a disease and searched
for medical help by themselves; however, the remaining
women (81.5 %) were brought or directed for evaluation by
someone else. Stress UI was reported by 43 women (10.5 %),
urge UI and mixed UI were noted by 153 (37.5 %) and 212
(52 %) women respectively.
Conclusions The most frequent type of UI was mixed UI in
our region. Age, BMI, multiparity, and hypertension were
identified to have a different importance for each type of UI,
but diabetes mellitus, birth trauma, gynecological surgery,
lumbar disc hernia (LDH), and multiple sclerosis (MS) were
the other important related factors. However, a small number
of patients accepted UI as a disease and searched for therapy.
This reveals that the public should be informed in detail about
female UI in developing countries.
