Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms among female elementary school teachers in Taipei

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among female elementary school teachers in Taipei. A total of 520 self-administered surveys were distributed to 26 elementary schools in Taipei City. Data analyses were based on 445 usable surveys. The prevalence rates for different types of LUTS ranged from 9.9 to 44.5%. The prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI; 26.7%) and nocturia (16.0%) fell within the prevalence estimates of these LUTS in North American and European women. Employed women in this study were more likely to experience LUTS than women in previous epidemiological or community studies. This study extended research on UI into other LUTS among employed women in Asia. Study results suggest that the working environment may affect LUTS in female elementary school teachers. This preliminary study is important for developing future behavioral interventions for female LUTS in the workplace.

Factors related to lower urinary tract symptoms among a sample of employed women in Taipei

“…17 The theoretical rationale and statistics for the sampling plan of the study reported here is more fully covered in a recent publication. 18 A systematic sampling method with probability proportional to size (pps) was used to select 26 elementary schools from all of the elementary schools in Taipei city. In each of the 26 selected elementary schools, a simple random sample of 20 teachers was used to achieve the required sample size of 502 teachers.…”

“…In each of the 26 selected elementary schools, a simple random sample of 20 teachers was used to achieve the required sample size of 502 teachers. 18 The two-stage sampling method led to the same overall probability of selection for all teachers across all schools. This special type of sampling method, equal probability of selection method (epsem), guarantees that specific population elements have an equal selection probability.…”

“…11 Definitions for all the LUTS used in this study were reported in a related publication. 18 For the construct individual characteristics, teachers' age, body height and body weight, family history of LUTS, obstetric history, and surgery histories were collected. Teachers were divided into six age groups ( 30, 31-35, 36- 22 For family history, only the history for a family member among individuals' first-degree female relatives (i.e., mothers, sisters, daughters) was included.…”

“…1,5,13,25,26 Procedures Institutional review board (IRB) approval was obtained from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill IRB for this study and the procedures are more fully described in a recent publication. 18 Twenty six elementary schools were selected from the 152 elementary schools in Taipei by using the systematic sampling method with pps and a second stage simple random sampling of 20 female teachers in each school was conducted. A total of 520 surveys were distributed to 26 elementary schools in Taipei.…”

“…Because 68 out of the 520 selected teachers declined participation, 68 teachers were randomly selected as substitutes in the schools where the 68 original selected teachers were employed. 18 Informed consent letters, surveys, and incentives ($ 10 US dollars) were distributed by the principal investigator to the selected teachers. The teachers were instructed to return their completed surveys to a sealed box located in each school's academic office within 1 week and the principal investigator personally collected the sealed box from each school 1 week after the surveys were distributed.…”