Prevalence of urinary incontinence and affecting risk factors in women

Objective: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common health condition that can cause medical, psychosocial and personal hygienic problems. This was a cross-sectional investigation to identify the prevalence of UI and risk factors related with parturition in elderly women. Material and Methods: The study consisted of 543 women older than 65 years without any sampling. Data were collected by a questionnaire. Chi-square and logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results: Elderly women had an incontinence rate of 43.6% and 41.4% of them referred to a physician with this complaint. Overall 27.6% of the participants had a history of labor longer than 24 hours and 28.9% of them had genital prolapsus. The rate of UI was higher in women with a history of labor longer then 24 hours and who had genital prolapsus than those without PROLAPSUS. There was no significant correlation between UI and child number, first birth age, last birth age, >= 4 kg birth weight and episiotomy during delivery. Conclusion: Almost half of the elderly women had urinary incontinence and some characteristics related with fertility influenced the development of UI. We suggest that assessment of UI symptoms and risk factors in elderly women and counseling on conservative and curative health services are important.