The Impact of Urinary Incontinence on the Quality of Life in Women

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence has a negative impact on the lifestyle of sufferers, affecting not only their physical condition but also their well-being. But only few patients visit doctors for treatment. The purpose of this study was to measure the quality of life in women with urinary incontinence. METHODS: Among the people who visited a tertiary hospital in Seoul for a health exam or primary care during April 2002, we selected 161 women over 20 years old. We measured their quality of life by the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Excel 2000 statistical program was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The active incontinence group, who experienced urinary incontinence within 1 year, were 48 women and the normal group without urinary incontinence at all were 65 women. The average SF-36 score was 76.5 in total women, 69.0 in active incontinence group, and 81.5 in normal group. The percentage of those seeking treatment was 10.4% and 64.6% of women have never sought help. CONCLUSION: These Results suggest that the incontinent patient had a much lower quality of life than normal women, but there were only few patients who sought treatment.