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 Sep;16(5):278-83.
doi: 10.1097/SPV.0b013e3181ed3e31.

Urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in a population-based, racially diverse cohort: prevalence and risk factors

Guri Rortveit  1 , Leslee L Subak, David H Thom, Jennifer M Creasman, Eric Vittinghoff, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Jeanette S Brown
Affiliations

Urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse in a population-based, racially diverse cohort: prevalence and risk factors

Guri Rortveit et al. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2010 Sep.

Abstract

Objectives: : We investigated the prevalence of and risk factors for combinations of urinary incontinence (UI), fecal incontinence (FI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in racially diverse women older than 40 years.

Methods: : The Reproductive Risks for Incontinence Study at Kaiser is a population-based study with data from 2106 women older than 40 years. Pelvic floor conditions were determined by self-report. Risk factors were assessed by self-report, interview and record review. Independent risk factors were identified by multinomial logistic regression analysis.

Results: : At least one pelvic floor condition was reported by 714 (34%) women. Of these, 494 (69%) had only UI, 60 (8%) only POP, and 46 (6%) only FI. Both UI and FI were reported by 64 (9%) and both UI and POP by 51 (7%). Among women with FI, 60% reported more than one condition. Corresponding figures for POP and UI were 49% and 18%. Estrogen use and constipation were shared risk factors for UI, FI and POP. Body mass index was a unique risk factor UI only, diabetes FI only and parity POP only. No clear pattern could be found to support the hypothesis that risk factors for single conditions are more strongly associated with combined conditions.

Conclusions: : Patients with FI or POP often have concomitant UI. These diseases both share and have unique risk factors in a complex pattern.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overlap of the prevalence of urinary incontinence, symptomatic prolapse, and fecal incontinence among symptomatic women (N=714). Urinary incontinence = leakage weekly or more; fecal incontinence = leakage monthly or more.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hannestad YS, Rortveit G, Sandvik H, Hunskaar S. A community-based epidemiological survey of female urinary incontinence: the Norwegian EPINCONT study. Epidemiology of Incontinence in the County of Nord-Trondelag. J Clin Epidemiol. 2000;53:1150–7. - PubMed
    1. Hendrix SL, Clark A, Nygaard I, Aragaki A, Barnabei V, Mctiernan A. Pelvic organ prolapse in the Women’s Health Initiative: gravity and gravidity. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;186:1160–6. - PubMed
    1. Nygaard I, Bradley C, Brandt D. Pelvic organ prolapse in older women: prevalence and risk factors. Obstet Gynecol. 2004;104:489–97. - PubMed
    1. Thom D. Variation in estimates of urinary incontinence prevalence in the community: effects of differences in definition, population characteristics, and study type. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1998;46:473–80. - PubMed
    1. Thom DH, Nygaard IE, Calhoun EA. Urologic diseases in America project: urinary incontinence in women-national trends in hospitalizations, office visits, treatment and economic impact. J Urol. 2005;173:1295–301. - PubMed