The relationship between sarcopenic obesity and urinary incontinence among adult women in the United States.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between sarcopenic obesity (SO) and urinary incontinence (UI) among adult women in the United States.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted on United States adult women aged over 20 years. Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006, and 2011-2018 cycles. UI diagnosis was collected via self-report questionnaire about kidney conditions. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by weight less than 23.47 % and percentage of fat mass equal to or greater than 40 %.

RESULTS

The prevalence rates of stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI were 39.6 %, 24.4 %, and 15.7 %, respectively. In univariate logistic regression, women with sarcopenic obesity had higher odds of stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI compared to the normal group (odds ratio = 2.048, 2.219, and 2.532, P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, the odds remained significantly elevated (adjusted odds ratio = 1.485, 1.554, and 1.663, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The present study demonstrates that sarcopenic obesity was closely associated with an increased odds of UI in United States adult women.