Epidemiologic Study of Female Urinary Incontinence in South Khorasan, Iran

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common disease that affects millions of people throughout their lives. It is reported that UI has a considerable economic burden on patients and communities. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and its related factors among women living in Birjand city, Iran.

 A cross-sectional study from September 2020 to December 2020 was conducted on women 15 to 70 years living in nine areas of Birjand city. Data were gathered by researcher-made questionnaire and in-person interviews about demographic, obstetrics, and UI (stress, urge, and overflow UI) characteristics. Chi-square test was applied to analyze differences between women with and without UI about risk factors.

Of 3028 women (mean age 32.70±11.49 years), 828 (27.3%) reported to have UI. The rate of stress, urge, and mixed UI was 18.1%, 3.4%, and 5.9%, respectively. All types of UI were associated with age, education, BMI, chronic cough / dyspnea, constipation, diabetes mellitus, and smoking.

Women should be continuously educated by health care providers on the risk factors and activities which can reduce their risk for UI. Further studies on women across the country may help decision makers to measure the regional burden of disease and to plan population-level interventions.