Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Oct;14(3):133-8.
doi: 10.5213/inj.2010.14.3.133. Epub 2010 Oct 31.

Quality of life of women with urinary incontinence: a systematic literature review

Bo Eun Kwon  1 , Gi Yon Kim, Youn Jung Son, Young Sook Roh, Mi Ae You
Affiliations

Quality of life of women with urinary incontinence: a systematic literature review

Bo Eun Kwon et al. Int Neurourol J. 2010 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review studies that have examined the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence.

Materials and methods: A review was conducted that used the databases PubMED, Proquest, CINAHL, and Sciencedirect. Articles were included that were published in English between 2005 and 2010 the key words use were urinary incontinence, women, and quality of life.

Results: A total of 18 studies were identified, and the prevalence of urinary incontinence varied depending on the definition of incontinence used and the age of the population studied. The Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QoL), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-short form (IIQ-7), and King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) were the most commonly used instruments. Demographic, medical, physical, psychological, health, and intervention factors were reported as influencing factors on the quality of life of women with incontinence. Age, severity of urinary incontinence, type of urinary incontinence, number of urinary incontinence episodes, body weight, stress, and help-seeking behavior were statistically significant variables influencing quality of life.

Conclusion: Future studies are needed to identify factors related to quality of life among women with incontinence and to use validated instruments according to specific subjects.

Keywords: Quality of life; Urinary incontinence; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature search results and review process. QoL: quality of life, HR QoL: health-related quality of life
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Minassian VA, Drutz HP, Al-Badr A. Urinary incontinence as a worldwide problem. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2003;82:327–338. - PubMed
    1. Abrams P, Cardozo L, Fall M, Griffiths D, Rosier P, Ulmsten U, et al. The standardization of terminology of lower urinary tract function: report from the Standardization Sub-committee of the International Continence Society. Neurourol Urodyn. 2002;21:167–178. - PubMed
    1. Corcos J, Beaulieu S, Donovan J, Naughton M, Gotoh M. Quality of life assessment in men and women with urinary incontinence. J Urol. 2002;168:896–905. - PubMed
    1. Moller LA, Lose G, Jorgensen T. The prevalence and bothersomeness of lower urinary tract symptoms in women 40-60 years of age. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2000;79:298–305. - PubMed
    1. Brocklehurst JC. Urinary incontinence in the community-analysis of a MORI poll. BMJ. 1993;306:832–834. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources