The hidden burden of Urinary Incontinence: A Community based study

Abstract Urinary Incontinence is one of the common health problems associated with ageing. Alhough it is not a common cause of mortality, it causes huge discomfort to the suffering person. As there is under-reporting of cases, it is largely a hidden entity in the community. The present study was designed as a community based research aimed at finding out the burden of UI in the ageing female population. The present study was a community based cross-sectional study conducted in the registered field practice areas of Department of Community Medicine, J. N. Medical College and Hospital, Aligarh from June, 2012 to May, 2013. A total of 530 post-menopausal women were approached with pre-tested and pre-structured proforma. The mean age of the study population was 58.14 ± 8.45 years. The observed prevalence of urinary incontinence was study was 41.3%. Stress incontinence was common in younger women, with the maximum prevalence in the age group 46-50 years (7.7%). Urinary incontinence was found to be significantly associated with obstetric factors like increasing parity and vaginal mode of delivery and non-obstetric factors like increasing BMI, central (abdominal) obesity, smoking and standard of living