Prevalence of urinary incontinence in female CrossFit athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis Studies on the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) among CrossFit practitioners are on the rise. This systematic review with meta-analysis was aimed at determining the prevalence of UI among CrossFit practitioners. Methods A systematic review of the literature was performed by searching MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus through January 2021. The search strategy included the keywords CrossFit, urine incontinence, exercise, high impact and pelvic floor dysfunction. The inclusion criterion was any study with a sample of CrossFit practitioners and results separated from the other fitness modalities analysed. The subjects were women with no restriction of age, parity, experience or frequency of training. Quality assessment of the studies included was conducted using the Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine scale and the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) adapted for cross-sectional studies. Results Thirteen studies (6 comparative and 7 non-comparative) were included for the systematic review, all using a cross-sectional design. The level of evidence was 4, with their quality ranging from poor ( n = 10) to fair ( n = 3). A total of 4,823 women aged 18 to 71 were included, 91.0% participated in CrossFit, and 1,637 presented UI, which indicates a prevalence of 44.5%. Also, 55.3% and 40.7% presented mild or moderate UI respectively. Stress UI was the most common type reported (81.2%). Conclusions The factors that increased the likelihood of UI were age, body mass index and parity. Exercises based on jumps were commonly associated with urine leakage. CrossFit practitioners presented higher UI than control groups.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Urinary Incontinence in Nulliparous Women: A Contemporary, Population-Based Cohort Study

“…3,[10][11][12] Studies in nulliparous athletes have shown that UI is a problem for many high-impact sport competitors, but risk factors for UI among nulliparous women in general have not been well established. [13][14][15] Numerous risk factors for UI have been identified and include parity, increasing age, body mass index (BMI), history of childhood enuresis, smoking, physical activity, prior hysterectomy, and comorbid disease. 8,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Existing studies include women regardless of parity or focus on risk factors in cohorts of reproductive-aged nulliparous women.…”

“…Furthermore, most studies to date focus on UI in reproductive-aged women, and many asked pregnant and parous women to recall their continence status before pregnancy, which is subject to recall bias 3,10–12 . Studies in nulliparous athletes have shown that UI is a problem for many high-impact sport competitors, but risk factors for UI among nulliparous women in general have not been well established 13–15 …”

Stress urinary incontinence prevalence and risk factors in female rugby players: a common health problem across four nations

“…SUI risk factors have been examined in different sports4 8 10–14 but have received limited attention in female rugby players. Training duration per week increased the risk of rugby players experiencing SUI, but increasing body mass index (BMI) and age did not 7.…”

Rund um den Beckenring

“…Denn nicht nur Senior*innen oder werdende/frischgebackene Mütter profitieren von physiotherapeutischen Maßnahmen rund um das Becken. So heißt es in einer kürzlich publizierten Meta-Analyse, dass über 80% der Frauen im Crossfit an einer Form der Inkontinenz leiden 1 .…”