Association between body mass index, trunk and total body fat percentage with urinary incontinence in adult US population.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: To assess the association of body mass index (BMI), trunk and total body fat percentage with the prevalence and severity of urinary incontinence (UI) stratified by gender among a US adult population.

METHODS

A representative cross-sectional survey of participants aged ≥ 20 years was conducted using the data from the 2011-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to explore the association among the three obesity measures above with the prevalence and severity of UI.

RESULTS

A total of 6964 individuals (4168 males and 2796 females) enrolled for the final analysis. Among males, the weighted prevalence of UI was 7.8%, with 1.3% stress urinary incontinence, 5.8% urge urinary incontinence and 0.7% mixed urinary incontinence. For females, the weighted prevalence of UI was 54.2%, with 31.9% stress urinary incontinence, 7.0% urge urinary incontinence and 15.6% mixed urinary incontinence. Multivariate logistic regression revealed increased BMI and trunk fat percentage significantly increased odds of UI (BMI: OR = 1.05 [per 1 kg/m2], 95% CI: 1.03-1.07, P < 0.001; trunk fat percentage: OR = 1.15 [per 5% increase in trunk fat percentage], 95% CI: 1.06-1.25, P = 0.002) in females. Similar trends were observed in the severity of UI (BMI: β = 0.07, 95% CI: 0.05-0.09, P < 0.001; trunk fat percentage: β = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.10-0.26, P < 0.001) by a multivariate linear regression. In males, no significant association was observed (BMI: OR = 0.99 [per 1 kg/m2], 95% CI: 0.97-1.02, P = 0.663; trunk fat percentage: OR = 0.95 [per 5% increase in trunk fat percentage], 95% CI: 0.84-1.08, P = 0.430; total fat percentage: OR = 0.94 [per 5% increase in total fat percentage], 95% CI: 0.80-1.10, P = 0.424).

CONCLUSIONS

An increased BMI and trunk fat percentage are significantly associated with higher prevalence and severity of UI in females.