[Purpose] Proper pelvic floor function is important to avoid serious dysfunctions
including incontinence, prolapse, and sexual problems. The current study evaluated the
knowledge of young nulliparous women about their pelvic floor and identified what
additional information they wanted. [Subjects and Methods] In this cross-sectional survey,
a validated, 36 item questionnaire was distributed to 212 nulliparous women. The
questionnaire addressed demography, pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor dysfunction, and
possible information sources. Descriptive statistics were generated for all variables.
Stability and validity testing were performed using Kappa statistics and intra class
correlation coefficients to define agreement for each question. The study was approved by
the ethics Committee (B300201318334). [Results] Using a VAS scale (0 to 10), the women
rated their knowledge about the pelvic floor as a mean of 2.4 (SD 2.01). A total of 93% of
the women were insufficiently informed and requested more information; 25% had concerns
about developing urinary incontinence, and 14% about fecal incontinence. Many of the women
were unaware what pelvic floor training meant. [Conclusion] There was a significant lack
of knowledge about pelvic floor function among nulliparous women. The majority of
nulliparous women expressed a need for education, which might offer a way to reduce
dysfunction.
Although the aetiology of urinary incontinence can be multifactorial, in some cases weight loss could be considered as a part of the therapeutic approach for urinary incontinence in people who are overweight. The objective of this study was to review and meta-analyse the effect of non-surgical weight loss interventions on urinary incontinence in overweight women. Web of Science, PubMed, Pedro, SPORTDiscus and Cochrane were systematically searched for clinical trials that met the a priori set criteria. Data of women who participated in non-surgical weight loss interventions (diet, exercise, medication or a combination) were included in the meta-analysis. After removing duplicates, 62 articles remained for screening on title, abstract and full text. Six articles (totalling 2,352 subjects in the intervention groups) were included for meta-analysis. The mean change in urinary incontinence (reported as frequency or quantity, depending on the study) after a non-surgical weight loss intervention, expressed as standardized effect size and corrected for small sample sizes (Hedges' g), was -0.30 (95%CI = -0.47 to -0.12). This systematic review and meta-analysis shows evidence that a non-surgical weight loss intervention has the potential to improve urinary incontinence and should be considered part of standard practice in the management of urinary incontinence in overweight women.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.