Prevalence of urinary incontinence in a community sample from the city of São Paulo.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in a community sample from the city of São Paulo.

METHODS

This epidemiological survey was conducted at a family health program in São Paulo, Brazil, using randomized sampling. Data were collected by interviewing residents and were analyzed by Pearson's correlation coefficients, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Seventy (10.7%) of the 657 subjects currently presented UI, including 50.7% with sporadic UI and 74.3% with UI upon moderate efforts. Ninety-three percent woke up during the night, 43.7% maintained continence until the bathroom, 63.4% had a sensation of wetness, and 77.5% reported no use of any continence aids. Female gender, advanced age, gynecologic or urologic surgery, dysuria, and urinary tract infection were correlated with UI (P < .001; r = 0.572).

CONCLUSION

The overall prevalence of UI was found to be high and was comparable to results from multiple countries.