Is stress urinary incontinence a familial condition?

Abstract

Background: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common problem of multifactorial origin. Some authors have claimed that it has a familial predisposition. This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of SUI among first-degree relatives of 154 women who had been operated on for this disorder and of 100 women without SUI.

Methods: This report is concerned with a questionnaire-based, case-control study. A total of 154 women who had undergone operations for SUI and 100 women who denied having SUI were included. A comparison was made of 413 first-degree relatives of incontinent women and 372 first-degree relatives of continent women according to the demographic characteristics, obstetric and gynecologic history and risk factors for SUI. The prevalence of SUI was investigated among the relatives. Furthermore, the characteristics of the women who had SUI operation were compared according to the continence state of their families.

Results: The prevalence of SUI was 71.4% among mothers and 24.6% among sisters of operated women compared with 40.3% among mothers and 11.6% among sisters of continent women (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the age at which symptoms began was significantly lower in the members of the 'incontinent families' (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The relatives of incontinent women displayed a higher prevalence of SUI than the relatives of continent women. Although this condition has a multifactorial origin, the familial aggregation of SUI and the appearance of symptoms at younger ages in women with a family history of SUI suggest that heredity may play a significant role.