Urinary incontinence is influenced by multiple factors, and prevalence of urinary incontinence subtypes may differ by race/ethnicity.
To determine prevalence of urinary incontinence subtypes and associated bother among women by race/ethnicity.
This cross-sectional analysis utilized data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) , an observational cohort study of four racial/ethnic groups recruited from six U.S. communities. At the sixth follow-up exam, urinary symptoms were ascertained with the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire. Prevalence rate ratios of stress urinary incontinence, urgency urinary incontinence and mixed urinary incontinence by race/ethnicity were calculated using generalized linear models for the binomial family while adjusting for covariates. Degree of bother was based on a scale of 0 (none) to 10 (greatest bother) and presence of any bother was defined as a score ≥ 3.
Among the 1749 female MESA participants who completed the sixth follow-up exam, 1628 (93%) completed the questionnaire. Women who did not complete the questionnaire were older compared to completers (average age 82.2 [standard deviation [SD] 9.5] vs.73.7 [8.4] years; P <0.01) and more likely to use diuretics (29.8% vs. 18.9%; p < 0.01). Among those who completed the questionnaire (n=1628), 39.4% were white, 12.5% were Chinese, 27.2% were Black and 20.9% were Hispanic. After adjusting for covariates, stress urinary incontinence (Prevalence Ratio 0.47; 95% CI 0.25, 0.86) and mixed urinary incontinence (Prevalence Ratio 0.58; 95% CI 0.38, 0.89) regardless of bother scores were significantly less prevalent among Black vs. White women while no significant racial/ethnic differences in stress or mixed urinary incontinence prevalence were noted for Chinese or Hispanic vs White women. No racial/ethnic differences in prevalence of urgency urinary incontinence were noted after adjustment for covariates. The majority of women with urinary incontinence reported bother scores ≥ 3 regardless of race/ethnicity and urinary incontinence subtype and bother scores did not differ significantly by race/ethnicity.
Frequency of urinary incontinence subtypes may differ by race/ethnicity but older women who report urinary incontinence are likely to have associated bother regardless of race/ethnicity.
American journal of obstetrics and gynecology. 2020 Jul 19 [Epub ahead of print]
Aelia Akbar, Kiang Liu, Erin D Michos, Linda Brubaker, Talar Markossian, Michael P Bancks, Holly Kramer
Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL., Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL., Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA., Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem NC., Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL; Department of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL. Electronic address: .