Relationship between hysterectomy and severity of female stress urinary incontinence

BACKGROUND: Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is one of the most reported health dilemmas of women suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms. AIM: To determine the relation between hysterectomy and severity of female SUI using Valsalva Leak Point Pressure (VLPP). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted at a public urology clinic in Tehran in 2015. The study population was all female with SUI complaints who visited the clinic during 2015. We compared Valsalva leak point pressure in two groups of female SUI patients with and without hysterectomy history. The inclusion criteria were: not taking any alpha-blocker or anti-cholinergic medicines two weeks prior to the urodynamic test as well as no history of pelvic surgery or cesarean delivery in their lifetime. All qualified patients were invited to participate in the study randomly, and among them, 120 qualified patients agreed to participate by filling out the informed consent form. Data was gathered through direct interview, and double checked by patients’ medical records. All the study variables including age, BMI, delivery number, hysterectomy and UTI history were entered and analyzed by estimating ordered logistic regression and by using Stata14.1 software. RESULTS: The mean of VLPP was 70.17 cmH(2)O in the group with hysterectomy history, and 94.55 cmH(2)O in those without hysterectomy history. The difference of VLPP pressure between the two studied groups were significant (p<0.05), even after control of confounding variables. Also, the odds of severe SUI among hysterectomy group patients was 6.3 times more than no hysterectomy (OR=6.32, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms significant relation between hysterectomy and SUI severity measured by Valsalva leak point pressure. Hysterectomy patients are more likely to suffer from more severe grades of SUI.