Advantages and Disadvantages of Commonly Used Urinary Incontinence Questionnaires-How to Correctly Choose Questionnaire in Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis?

Background/

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe the most clinically useful questionnaires in UI diagnosis and determine their optimal applicability to specific types of UI.

Methods

The MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and Scopus databases were searched using the following MeSH terms in titles and abstracts: ("questionnaires and urinary incontinence" OR "questionnaires and quality of life"). No language restrictions were applied, and the search was limited to studies involving human subjects.

Results

Numerous methods are available to assess the severity of incontinence and its symptoms. Objective measures recommended for the evaluation of urinary incontinence in women include simple investigations combined with thorough clinical history taking. However, these methods alone do not adequately capture patients' perceptions of their symptoms or their impact on quality of life. To obtain a comprehensive assessment, the International Consultation on Incontinence recommends combining subjective and objective measures. Thus, evaluating urinary incontinence should include both the severity of symptoms and the extent to which they affect daily life.

Conclusions

Questionnaires (Qs), as patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, are valuable tools for identifying and diagnosing dysfunction, assessing its severity, evaluating its impact on quality of life (QoL), and measuring improvement or satisfaction following treatment. Accurate assessment of clinical symptoms and their impact on health-related QoL has become central to contemporary medical outcomes research.