Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Impact on Life of Female Urinary Incontinence: An Epidemiological Survey of 9584 Women in a Region of Southeastern China

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and impact on quality of life (QOL) of female urinary incontinence (UI) in a region of southeastern China. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted between June 2022 and March 2023, included 9584 women aged 20–70 years who completed a standardized questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. This sample size represents almost 10% of the population in the target area. RESULTS: The prevalence of female UI was found to be 24.8%, with stress UI being the most common subtype (12.7%), followed by mixed UI (8.0%) and urgency UI (4.1%). Notably, the prevalence of UI increased progressively with age and body mass index (BMI). The study also revealed several risk factors for UI, including urban residence, postmenopausal status, multiple vaginal deliveries, instrumental vaginal deliveries, previous delivery of macrosomia, and prior history of pelvic floor surgery as determined by multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the study showed that 89.5% of women who reported UI experienced varying degrees of negative impact on their QOL. The incontinence quality of life (I-QOL) scale had an average score of 79.70±19.03, which decreased with increasing severity of UI. Despite the adverse effects on QOL, only 20.6% of women with UI had sought medical help. CONCLUSION: UI is common among women in the survey area. UI has been observed to have varying degrees of adverse effects on the QOL of those affected, but most of them do not seek treatment for several reasons, highlighting the urgent need for health authorities to develop effective UI intervention strategies.