Prevalence of stress urinary incontinence and its associated risk factors amongst females attending tertiary referral centre

Abstract

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common diseases in the world, occurring majorly in females. The most common reason of its occurrence in women is: stress urinary incontinence. The frequent and repeated small leaks lead to soreness and excoriation of the vulva, and necessitate frequent changes of underclothing or the constant wearing of the protective clothing. In severe cases the woman’s life becomes a misery; she feels a social outcast and avoids leaving the house.Methods: This study was conducted at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose medical college and hospital from October 2016 to October 2017. A total of 418 women above 18 years of age who have none of the exclusion criteria (active UTI, pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum, malignancy, any neurological illness, all patients with true illness) were included. Data was collected using a predesigned proforma meeting the objectives of the study with their consent.Results: We have studied 418 cases out of which 77 (18.4%) cases were found to have stress urinary incontinence.Conclusions: Stress urinary incontinence amongst women is an undiagnosed problem leading to significant suffering. This study signifies how neglected women’s health, post menopause particularly genitourinary health is. It also highlights the simple clinical diagnostic parameters needed to establish the presence of incontinence.