Prevalence of urinary incontinence in Korean women:an epidemiologic survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in a Korean national community sample of female adults aged 30-79 years. During April 2003, a national Korea telephone survey using quota sampling methods was conducted. The clinically validated computer-assisted telephone interview approach was used in the survey. Of the 1,500 subjects contacted, 1,303 were successfully interviewed (response rate 86.9%). Overall, UI was reported by 40.8%, and 22.9, 3.1, and 14.9% reported pure stress, urge, and mixed UI, respectively. The prevalence of stress, urge, and mixed UI generally did not increase with age. Urge and mixed UI had a greater impact than stress UI on daily tasks (P< 0.001), social life (P < 0.001), depression or anxiety due to UI (P < 0.001), worry about UI (P < 0.001), sex life (P < 0.001), wear protection due to UI (P = 0.011), and quality of life (P < 0.001). In subjects with pure stress UI, 28.3% reported impaired quality of life compared with 43.9% and 43.8% of subjects with urge and mixed UI. Of those individuals with stress, urge, and mixed UI, 19.1, 20.0, and 25.8% had the willingness to seek medical consultation. This study is the first to examine the prevalence of UI in Korean women. The present study revealed that there was a high prevalence of UI in this population. Our descriptive research provides a valuable insight into the need for tailored education to this population about UI.

Does urinary incontinence affect quality of life of Greek women less severely? A cross-sectional study in two Mediterranean settings

“…Prevalence rates vary according to study populations, methods of investigation, and the operative definition being used. In recent studies, 20-55% of community-dwelling women report involuntary leakage of urine [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. It is also well-known that UI has an adverse effect on patients' daily lives and could become an important barrier to normal function in the social, family, or work environment [8,9].…”

Analysis of the prevalence and associated factors of overactive bladder in adult Korean men

“…Moreover, until recently, a consensus has not been available concerning the definition of OAB. Earlier studies reported that OAB was characterized by the prevalence of urinary incontinence and nocturia in a specific age group [19, 20], and OAB was investigated in the presence of urgency without verified survey items [2, 16]. Although a population-based study was conducted in Korean men, the study was conducted by telephone survey, with a response proportion as low as approximately 22.1% [16].…”

The Prevalence of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in Korean Men Aged 40 Years or Older: A Population-Based Survey

“…LUTS are recognized as a common condition in men aged ≥40 years, and its prevalence increases with age [2,3,4]. Several epidemiologic studies have focused on LUTS in Korea [5,6,7,8,9,10], as well as in other Asian [11,12,13] and Western countries [14,15,16,17,18]. However, the true prevalence of LUTS is difficult to determine because most studies have examined specific symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia [8,13], urinary incontinence [7,9,10,14], or overactive bladder [5,6,12,15,17,18] rather than LUTS in general.…”