Urinary incontinence in women of reproductive age

Abstract

We investigated the prevalence and the consequence of urinary incontinence in the Turkish population, representing a composition of European and Asian populations. During a 12-month period, the standard urinary incontinence questionnaire was answered by 1,250 women of reproductive age who were admitted to the outpatient clinic with various gynecologic complaints, except for women whose main complaints were urinary incontinence. These patients were randomly selected by stratification according to the following five age-groups: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and 40-44. The prevalence of incontinence was measured for each group. Urinary incontinence prevalence was 24.5%; in 6.6% the incontinence occurred at least once daily. The lowest prevalence was found in the younger age-groups (18-29 years) and the highest in 40-44 years of age. Two hundred and sixty-one incontinent women (85%) had never sought medical help. The results indicated that urinary incontinence was common among women of reproductive age and only few sought medical help. We suggest that more public education about women's urinary problems and more attention to this problem by physicians are the mainstays of management.