Prevalence and Risk Factors for Incontinence Among Emirati Women With Diabetes

Abstract

Clinicians working with Emirati diabetic women should endeavor to enhance screening for incontinence and design culturally appropriate strategies for teaching and treating this complication of diabetes.

Types of Urinary Incontinence Prevalent among Kuwaiti Women with Type Two Diabetes Mellitus

“…Mixed incontinence was the most prevalent type of UI occurring in 238 (95.2%) of our participants. Furthermore, studies with diabetic and non-diabetic participants also reported higher prevalence of urinary incontinence with diabetic than non-diabetic women [18]. The co-morbidity of type two diabetes mellitus in all our participants might have contributed to their having such high prevalence of stress incontinence and urge incontinence/OAB.…”

“…The findings were that stress incontinence and urge incontinence symptoms were present in 197 (56.3%) and 208 (59.4%) respectively. In this study, the co-morbidity was type 2 diabetes mellitus and the duration of diabetes was the most significant risk factor for incontinence [18]. A Bahrani study [19], investigated the risk factors in 259 women receiving treatment for UI at the Urogynecologic clinic, at Salmaniya Medical complex, Bahrain, Their findings revealed the following risk factors for UI: recurrent urinary tract infection 34%, chronic constipation 32%, DM 17.4%, spinal diseases 14.3%, gastrointestinal diseases 12%, neurological diseases 2%, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 4.6% and the remaining 17% were on diuretics [19].…”

“…Reports from other Arab countries were contradictory to the Kuwaiti findings; the Qatari study reported that 79% of his Qatari women participants reported moderate to severe negative impact on their lives [15]. The Jordanian women felt it had a negative impact on their psychosocial well-being [16], and the Emirati women felt urinary incontinence was cumbersome, disrupting their social and religious activities [18]. The Saudi women in both Jeddah and Riyadh reported adverse effect on their lives yet majority of them did not seek medical care [20] [21].…”

“…In terms of Quality of Life, 79% of them expressed moderate to severe negative impact on their quality of life [15]. Bani-Issa with different researchers conducted studies in Jordan and United Arab Emirate [16] [17] [18]. Their study on the prevalence of UI and its perceived psychosocial impact on 1,011 Jordanian women aged 20 to 65 years attending primary healthcare centers was conducted in Jordan using a standardized incontinence questionnaire.…”

“…Regarding the emotional aspects of their incontinence, the women reported that incontinence as cumbersome, disrupting both their social and religious activities [17]. A year later, Bani-Issa and his colleagues [18] reported the findings of another study comprising of 350 Emirati women with DM using a different research tool: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-Kidney Condition-Urology. Two hundred and twenty five (64.3%) participants had UI.…”