Objective: Urinary Incontinence (UI) is more prevalent among women and is a significant health concern. Almost half the elderly population suffer from the condition. Obesity, aging and parity are some of the main factors associated with UI apart from other serious health issues such as diabetes mellitus and neurological disorders. In this study we aim to estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and its association with obesity among women attending the postnatal clinics in Qatar.
Method: Three hundred and fifty-seven women volunteers from 3 post-natal clinics who participated in the study and the International Consultation Incontinence Questionnaire – Short Form (ICIQ-SF) was used for estimating the prevalence. The risk of UI with reference to BMI was calculated using the multiple regression method.
Results: The results indicated that stress and mixed type of UI was more prevalent. The tendency to seek medical help for UI was relatively higher among the obese population compared to that of healthy and overweight population. The results indicated that the odds of developing any incontinence was increased by 181% and 121% in the overweight and obese categories, taking the normal weight group as reference. Similarly, the odds of developing any incontinence was reduced by 55 % and 65 % in the normal weight group women, compared to that of obese and overweight category respectively.
Conclusion: The results clearly indicate that a significantly higher odds of developing UI were observed in higher BMI groups, confirming that a higher BMI is a potential risk factor for UI.
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2022: 6.012
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