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
. 2019 Jan 23;14(1):e0208733.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208733. eCollection 2019.

Urinary incontinence and its relation to delivery circumstances: A population-based study from rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Gileard G Masenga  1   2 , Benjamin C Shayo  2 , Sia Msuya  1 , Vibeke Rasch  3   4
Affiliations

Urinary incontinence and its relation to delivery circumstances: A population-based study from rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Gileard G Masenga et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence (UI), the different UI subtypes and the association between UI and delivery circumstances.

Design: Cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania.

Participants and settings: 1048 women aged 18-90 women living in rural Kilimanjaro. Simple random sampling was done to select villages, households and participants. Community health workers helped in identifying eligible women and trained nurses/midwives conducted face-to-face interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Univariate and Multivariate logistic regression modelling.

Results: The overall prevalence rate of UI was 42%. When focusing on the different types of UI, 17% of the women had stress UI, 9% had urge UI and 16% had mixed UI. Only one woman (0.1%) with vesico-vaginal fistula was identified. UI was found to be significantly associated with increasing parity (OR = 2.41 (1.55-3.74). In addition, women who in relation to their first delivery had delivered at home or had been in labour for more than 24 hours, had increased adjusted ORs of 1.70(1.08-2.68) and 2.10(1.08-4.10), respectively, for having UI.

Conclusion: UI is common in rural Tanzania and of the subtypes of UI, Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is the commonest followed by Mixed Urinary Incontinence (MUI). Home delivery, prolonged labour and increasing parity especially having 5 or more deliveries are associated with increased risk for developing UI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Proportions of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urge urinary incontinence (UUI), and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) among 441/1048 women reporting any urinary incontinence.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Age and prevalence of subtypes of urinary incontinence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abrams P, Cardozo L, Fall M, Griffiths D, Rosier P, Ulmsten U, et al. The standardisation of terminology in lower urinary tract function: report from the standardisation sub-committee of the International Continence Society. Urology. 2003;61(1):37–49. 10.1016/S0090-4295(02)02243-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Walker GJ, Gunasekera P. Pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence in developing countries: review of prevalence and risk factors. International Urogynecology Journal. 2011;22(2):127–35. Epub 2010/07/10. 10.1007/s00192-010-1215-0 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Weber AM, Abrams P, Brubaker L, Cundiff G, Davis G, Dmochowski RR, Fischer J, et al. The standardization of terminology for researchers in female pelvic floor disorders.pdf>. International Urogynecology Journal. 2001;12:178–86. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wood LN, Anger JT. Urinary incontinence in women. BMJ (Clinical research ed). 2014;349:g4531 Epub 2014/09/17. 10.1136/bmj.g4531 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schreiber Pedersen L, Lose G, Hoybye MT, Elsner S, Waldmann A, Rudnicki M. Prevalence of urinary incontinence among women and analysis of potential risk factors in Germany and Denmark. Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. 2017;96(8):939–48. Epub 2017/04/13. 10.1111/aogs.13149 . - DOI - PubMed

Publication types