ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 155: Urinary Incontinence in Women

Association of baseline severity of lower urinary tract symptoms with the success conservative therapy for urinary incontinence in women

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

To identify the association between the symptom severity and outcome of conservative management for OAB, SUI and MUI. Conservative treatments are recommended for overactive bladder (OAB), stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and mixed incontinence (MUI). It is unclear whether disease severity affects treatment outcome.

METHODS

Patients receiving conservative management were reviewed. Disease-specific questionnaires (OAB-q SF, ICIQ-UI SF) and bladder diaries recorded baseline symptoms. Success was defined by Patient Global Impression of Improvement questionnaire (PGI-I) response of "very much better" or "much better". Non-parametric statistical tests and logistic regression were used.

RESULTS

In 50 OAB patients success was associated with lower symptom severity [30 (0-80) vs. 80 (23-100), p = 0.0001], fewer urgency episodes [4 (0-12) vs. 6 (0-11), p = 0.032] and lower ICIQ-UI SF [5.5 (0-20) vs. 15 (0-21), p = 0.002], but higher QoL [67 (20-101) vs. 24 (6-58), p = 0.0001]. In 50 MUI patients, variables were fewer urgency episodes [3 (0-10) vs. 6 (0-16), p = 0.004] and lower ICIQ-UI [11 (1-18) vs. 15 (5-21), p = 0.03]. In 40 SUI patients, variables were fewer incontinence episodes [1 (0-4) vs. 2 (0-5), p = 0.05] and lower ICIQ-UI [11 (6-16) vs. 13.5 (11-19), p = 0.003]. Multiple regression confirmed OAB-q QoL [odds ratio (OR) 1.10 (95% confidence intervals 1.04, 1.1)] for OAB, urgency episodes [OR 0.74 (0.56, 0.98)] and ICIQ-UI [OR 0.83 (0.71, 0.98] for MUI and ICIQ-UI [OR 0.57 (0.40, 0.83)] for SUI.

CONCLUSIONS

Milder baseline disease severity was associated with successful outcome. There is potential for triage at initial assessment to second-line interventions for women unlikely to achieve success.

Factors associated with reasons incontinent midlife women report for not seeking urinary incontinence treatment over 9 years across the menopausal transition

OBJECTIVE

We explored factors associated with reasons that women with urinary incontinence (UI) reported for not seeking treatment for their UI from a healthcare professional and whether reasons differed by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or education.

METHODS

We analyzed questionnaire data collected from 1995 to 2005 in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. In visits 7 to 9, we elicited reasons that women with UI reported for not seeking treatment and condensed them into: UI not bad enough, beliefs about UI causes (UI is a normal consequence of aging or childbirth), and motivational barriers (such as feeling too embarrassed). We used Generalized Estimating Equations and ordinal logistic regression to evaluate factors associated with these reported reasons and number of reasons.

RESULTS

Of the 1,339 women reporting UI, 814 (61.0%) reported they did not seek treatment for UI. The most frequently reported reasons were as follows: "UI not bad enough" (73%), "UI is a normal part of aging" (53%), and "healthcare provider never asked" (55%). Women reporting daily UI had higher odds of reporting beliefs about UI causes (adjusted odds ratio UI 3.16, 95% CI 1.64-6.11) or motivational barriers (adjusted odds ratio UI 2.36, 95% CI 1.21-4.63) compared with women reporting less than monthly UI. We found no interactions by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or education and UI characteristics in reasons that women reported for not seeking UI treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Over half of women who did not seek treatment for their UI reported reasons that could be addressed by public health and clinical efforts to make UI a discussion point during midlife well-women visits.

Screening for Geriatric Syndromes: Falls, Urinary/Fecal Incontinence, and Osteoporosis

The geriatric syndromes of falls, incontinence, and osteoporosis are concerns in older adults because of their potential impact on quality of life. Asking about history of falls or a fear of falling should prompt a multifactorial assessment of fall risk and targeted interventions to reduce falls. Urinary and fecal incontinence should be screened because they are common conditions that are underreported due to embarrassment and general perception that incontinence is a normal part of aging. Women over age 65, men over age 70, and younger patients with high-risk characteristics should be screened with bone mineral density testing with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Urinary Incontinence and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Intimate Relationship Satisfaction Among Midlife Women

OBJECTIVE

To explore associations among symptoms of urinary incontinence, severity of symptoms, and measures of psychosocial health that may be assessed during a well-woman screening examination and the possible contribution of these variables to the relationship satisfaction of partnered midlife women living with urinary incontinence.

DESIGN

Exploratory correlational design using self-report questionnaires.

SETTING

Community recruitment by posted fliers, advertisements, and social media.

PARTICIPANTS

Partnered women, ages 45 to 65 years, with urinary incontinence (N = 57).

METHODS

Self-report measures of severity of incontinence symptoms, relationship satisfaction, self-concept/emotional health (self-esteem, body image, depression, anxiety), and relationship factors (sexual quality of life, incontinence-related communication). Data were analyzed using Spearman rho correlation with an exploration of the contribution of study factors to relationship satisfaction through standard multiple regression.

RESULTS

The severity of urinary incontinence symptoms had no significant correlation with scores on relationship satisfaction or psychosocial health. Measures of self-concept/emotional health and relationship factors were significantly correlated with each other (r_s = .40-.75, p < .01) and with relationship satisfaction (r_s = .35-.71, p < .05). Preliminary exploration of the contribution of study factors to relationship satisfaction through exploratory regression analysis showed unique contributions from sexual quality of life (18.7%, p < .001) and depression (8.7%, p = .004).

CONCLUSION

Midlife women with urinary incontinence, regardless of symptom severity, might benefit from screening for poorer sexual quality of life and mild depression symptoms because these two study factors significantly contributed to poorer intimate relationship satisfaction among this study's participants.