The prevalence of urinary incontinence in American Indian women from a South Dakota tribe.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the prevalence and associated risk factors for urinary incontinence in a Northern Plains tribe of American Indian women. METHODS: The Urogenital Distress Inventory-Short Form was used to assess urinary incontinence in a sample of American Indian women from one tribe. This was a cross-sectional convenience sampling of 234 eligible participants. Participant's ages ranged from 18 to 80 years. Stata/Se 9.1 software was used in statistical analysis. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of urinary stress incontinence was 15.4%, urgency incontinence 2.14%, and mixed incontinence 20.5%. Both stress and urgency incontinence was found to be low in this sample population. CONCLUSIONS: A reduced prevalence of stress and urgency incontinence is seen in our sample. Our study group showed a high prevalence of known risk factors associated with urinary incontinence. We intend to extend our study for further understanding of this patient population.

Breastfeeding: a review of the benefits for American Indian women.

Research indicates that breastfeeding provides a wide array of physical and psychological benefits to both mother and child. Breastfeeding is also a practical way for families, government and society to save money. Although breastfeeding rates in South Dakota mirror national rates, data shows that participants of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, especially American Indians, have much lower rates of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding may be particularly important in tribal communities because of its ability to alleviate health problems, such as infant mortality and diabetes, which are particularly devastating to American Indians. Economic benefits also can be measured to determine advantages to breastfeeding. The following article reviews the extensive benefits that breastfeeding can provide to American Indian women and their families.