Prevalence of female urinary incontinence in the developing world: A systematic review and meta‐analysis—A Report from the Developing World Committee of the International Continence Society and Iranian Research Center for Evidence Based Medicine

Abstract

Aims: The prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in the developing world varies widely. Factors influencing prevalence rates are a key area of interest, and knowledge of these would provide appropriate planning for preventive primary and secondary health care programs. The objective of this report was to synthesize the best available evidence to determine UI prevalence rates in adult women in a population setting.Methods: A comprehensive search strategy was employed to find published and unpublished studies. Databases searched included PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. We used the standardized Joanna Briggs Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics, Assessment, and Review Instrument to appraise the included studies.Results: In total, 54 studies with 138,722 women aged 10 to 90 years were included in this meta-analysis. Prevalence of UI ranged from 2.8% in Nigeria to 57.7% in Iran. The total prevalence of UI was 25.7% (95% CI: 22.3-29.5) and the prevalence rates for stress, urgency, and mixed UI were 12.6% (95% CI: 10.3-15.4), 5.3% (95% CI: 3.4-8.3), and 9.1% (95% CI: 7.0-11.8), respectively.When we excluded the elderly population, UI prevalence only slightly changed (26.2%; 95% CI: 22.6-30.2). Prevalence rates varied considerably during different recall periods, ranging from 15.6% for UI during the last 12 months to 41.2% for UI during the last 3 months. However, the study quality and use of validated vs nonvalidated questionnaires only had a minor impact on the prevalence rates. Conclusions: The prevalence, methodology, and definition of UI vary widely.A large-scale multinational study with a homogeneous methodology is necessary to correctly calculate and compare the prevalence rates to improve health policies in the developing world. K E Y W O R D Sdeveloping countries, prevalence, urinary incontinence

Abdominal complex muscle in women with stress urinary incontinence – prospective case-control study

“…The prevalence of urinary incontinence in population of adult women is 25,7% [1]. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when an increase in intra-abdominal pressure, caused for example by coughing or heavy physical work, is accompanied by the involuntary passing of urine [2].…”

“…Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when an increase in intra-abdominal pressure, caused for example by coughing or heavy physical work, is accompanied by the involuntary passing of urine [2]. The prevalence of SUI stress urinary incontinence among adult women is 12,6%, and the most important risk factors are obstetric history [1,3].…”

Urinary incontinence in children aged 5 to 12 in an emergency setting: lessons learned in Ethiopia

“…Previous research conducted in Zambia found a low level of disclosure by adults that they were experiencing incontinence symptoms (that is, self-wetting), with a reluctance to disclose attributed to a lack of awareness that incontinence is a medical condition, and/or the stigma associated with the condition (Rosato-Scott and Barrington, 2018). Interviews with adults and their caregivers revealed this reluctance to disclose rather than an absence of UI, and this is supported by systematic reviews looking at the prevalence of adults experiencing UI in LMICs which find rates in line with global estimates (Walker and Gunasekera, 2011;Rosato-Scott and Barrington, 2018;Mostafaei et al, 2020).…”

"Heavy lifting and urinary incontinence" top read or toss into the bias list?

“…3 However, in developing countries, the prevalence is increased to 58%. 4 The global annual costs of the women's UI are more than the expenses of breast, ovals, cervix and uterus cancers combined, [5][6][7] which highlights the importance of UI among females. Besides the financial issues, the UI causes depression, shame and nervousness in patients and decreases the self-efficiency, effective attendance in the society and the quality of life.…”