Women with urinary incontinence in Spain: Health-related quality of life and the use of healthcare resources

Abstract

Objectives: To describe Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and healthcare resource utilization in women aged 60 and over in Spain.

Design: Descriptive analysis of primary data from the Spanish National Health Survey, 2012.

Main outcome measures: Utility indices were obtained through the EQ5D5L questionnaire included in the survey, and utilization rates of consultations, hospitalizations, emergency services, and medication intake. HRQOL and utilization rates were systematically compared between women diagnosed with UI, women diagnosed with other chronic conditions (OCC) and healthy women of the same age.

Results: Utility indices were 0.47 in UI women versus 0.78 and 0.96 in women diagnosed with OCC and healthy women, respectively. Each year 351,675 Quality Adjusted Life Years are lost in Spain due to UI in the population of women aged 60 and over. Resource utilization of these women was significantly higher than that of other women.

Conclusions: UI has a larger impact on both HRQOL and healthcare consumption in women who are aged 60 and over, than OCC. Appropriate treatment of UI might entail an important gain in terms of HRQOL and a significant reduction in healthcare consumption in Spain.

Keywords: Healthcare consumption; Quality of life; Spain; Urinary incontinence.