Urinary incontinence status and risk factors in women aged 50–70 years: a cross-sectional study in Hunan, China

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common condition that may decrease women’s quality of life. Risk factors remain debatable based on previous research. We aimed to determine the prevalence of UI and associated risk factors among women aged 50–70 years in Hunan, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to August 2018 using a face-to-face questionnaire. In total, 2790 women aged 50–70 years were recruited using multi-stage stratified random sampling in Hunan. Dependent variable was UI. Independent variables were demographic characteristics, health behaviours, obstetric history and comorbidity. Data were entered into EpiData and analysed using SPSS. Chi-square tests were used to assess associations between categorical variables. Statistically significant variables (p ≤ 0.05) were then analysed by logistic regression. The prevalence of UI was 14.84% (414/2790). Of the women with UI, 61.1% (253/414) had stress urinary incontinence (SUI), 21.5% (89/414) had urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), and 17.1% (72/414) had mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). Risk factors for UI included ageing, living in the countryside, history of gynaecological disease, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. UI in women aged 50–70 years in Hunan was not as prevalent as reported in previous studies. Some possible reasons are addressed; for example, the primary survey in this study was not a UI-focused survey. Women who were older, lived in the countryside and had histories of gynaecological disease, hypertension or cardiovascular disease were more likely to have UI. Health departments and medical staff should target patients with factors that potential contribute to UI development.