Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence among Females with Vaginal Delivery, Lower Segmental Cesarean Section, Diabetic and Hypothyroidism and Its Impact on Quality of Life

Abstract

Introduction: Urinary incontinence is defined as involuntary loss of urine that represents both hygienic and social problem to the individual. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in women is nearly 30 to 40% in middle aged and 50% in older women. There are some risk factors associated with urinary incontinence such as age, childbirth, pregnancy, surgery, lifestyle habits, neurological problem, menopause, obesity, pelvic organ prolapsed etc. Some studies suggested that urinary incontinence has been related with BMI, races, age, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity. Aim: The study aimed to find out the prevalence of urinary incontinence among different aged women with vaginal delivery, lower segmental caesarean section, diabetic and hypothyroidism and its impact on quality of life. Materials and Methods: A total of 240 women were selected from 300 volunteers based on the inclusion criteria of six months after delivery either a vaginal delivery or lower segmental caesarean section and females taking medication for hypothyroidism and diabetes for maximum of five years. Exclusion criteria were patients who underwent recent abdominal surgeries, any recent fracture, long standing disease, uncooperative patient and neurological or psychological problems. They were divided into four groups, 60 in each group. After getting the consent from the patients, assessment form and questionnaires were given and to be filled by the sample and asked to answer the entire question ensuring confidentiality. The materials used were Questionnaires for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire short form (IIQ-7) and Incontinence Severity Index (ISI). Results: The study showed that the prevalence of urinary incontinence was higher among women with Group C (Diabetic) followed by Group A (Vaginal delivery), Group B (Lower segmental caesarean section) and Group D (Hypothyroidism. It showed invariable effect on the quality of life of the women. Conclusion: The study concluded that the prevalence of urinary incontinence among the four groups of women is higher in Group C (diabetic) followed by Group A (vaginal delivery), Group B (lower segmental caesarean section), and Group D (hypothyroidism). The urge incontinence was more prevalent than the stress incontinence. However, it also showed that there is an impact on the quality of life of the affected women. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected and alternate hypothesis is accepted.

Keywords

• incontinence severity index
• questionnaires for urinary incontinence diagnosis
• thyroid