Prevalence of urinary incontinence and its association with body mass index among women in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE

Urinary incontinence (UI) affects the quality of life of millions of women world-wide. Prevalence estimates for UI range from 10% to 40%, but information on young and mid-life women, especially among Hispanics, is limited. This study estimated UI prevalence and its association with body mass index (BMI) in a population-based sample of 276 female residents of Bayamón, Puerto Rico (PR) aged 21-64 years.

METHODS

A cluster sampling design was employed. Women were interviewed to gather data on sociodemographic, clinical, gynecologic, and UI characteristics. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study sample. Bivariate analyses of factors potentially associated with UI and BMI were conducted using generalized linear models (GLM). Multivariate GLM was used to determine the covariate adjusted association between BMI and UI.

RESULTS

The prevalence of UI was 34.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.4-40.6%). Among women with UI, stress incontinence was most frequent (46.8%), followed by mixed (41.5%) and urge incontinence (11.7%). More than 45% of participants were either overweight (25 kg/m(2) <or= BMI <or= 29.9 kg/m(2)) or obese (BMI >or= 30 kg/m(2)). The adjusted analysis revealed that women with a BMI >or= 30 kg/m(2) had 1.96 (p = 0.06) times the probability of having UI compared to women with a BMI < 25 kg/m(2).

CONCLUSIONS

UI is a public health problem among this population, and obesity marginally increases the possibility of having this condition. Public health efforts should focus on reducing obesity in PR, in order to have an impact on UI morbidity.