RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its correlation to the underlying diseases of women in Daegu. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urinary incontinence questionnaire regarding age, body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), parity, delivery mode, menopausal status, history of hormonal replacement therapy, abortion history, and any underlying diseases were administered from May to November, 2001 to 412 women over 20 who had been randomly selected from the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Yeungnam University. The clinical characteristics of women who experience, and those who do not experience urinary incontinence were compared by means of the Student's t-test for continuous variables and by the Pearson's Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the urinary incontinent group (N=193) was 44.2 years. There was a significant increase in the prevalence of incontinence with the increase of age (p=0.000). The prevalence of urinary incontinence was significantly related to the number of deliveries and the mode of delivery (p=0.007, p=0.001) No significant relationship was demonstrated between urinary incontinence and BMI (body mass index) ; the number of abortions; hormonal status; or any underlying diseases such as thyroid disease, diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory disease. Also, most of the urinary incontinent women didn't recognize their incontinence as pathological and consequently, didn't consult a physician. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that the prevalence of urinary incontinence is significantly correlated to age, parity, and the mode of delivery. Most of the middle-aged women who suffered from urinary incontinence didn't recognize their incontinence a pathological. Those results suggest that women in this age group need more information and more education about urinary incontinence.