Stress urinary incontinence and visceral adipose index: a new risk parameter

Abstract

Objective: Visceral adipose index (VAI) is a novel parameter for the evaluation of visceral obesity. As we know that obesity is a risk factor for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), in this study we compared the VAI levels between the women with SUI and without SUI.

Materials and methods: Two hundred and twenty-nine women were included in the study: 125 women with SUI and 104 women without SUI (control). All women were evaluated for SUI. We accessed the women for SUI at gynecologic position, and we performed cough stress test. In the calculations, continence was defined as no incontinence at all.

Results: Mean age was 52.1 (29-73) in women who have SUI and 50.8 (31-65) in control women. The women with SUI had higher BMI, TG levels, higher WC and lower HDL-C levels. Mean VAI level was 5.21 ± 2.61 in study group and 3.49 ± 1.78 in control group, respectively. VAI levels were statistically higher in women with SUI (p < 0.001).

Discussion: The simplicity of WC and BMI measurements and TG and HDL assessments make VAI an easily applicable index for the evaluation of visceral fat dysfunction. VAI can be a useful index for the evaluation and calculation of stress urinary incontinence risk.