Quality of life in women with urinary incontinence seeking care using e-health

Abstract

Background Quality of life (QoL) in women with urinary incontinence (UI) is mainly affected by UI severity, but it is also affected by the UI subtype, comorbidities, age, and socioeconomic status. e-Health is a new method for providing UI treatment. This study aimed to identify factors with the highest impact on QoL in women that turned to e-health for UI self-management. Methods We analysed data from three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated e-health treatments for UI. We included baseline data for 373 women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and 123 women with urgency/mixed UI (UUI/MUI). All participants were recruited online, with no face-to-face contact. Participants completed two questionnaires: the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF, range: 0–21 points), for assessing UI severity, and the ICIQ Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life (ICIQ-LUTSqol, range: 19–76 points), for assessing condition-specific quality of life (QoL). To identify factors that impacted QoL, we constructed a linear regression model. Results The mean ICIQ-LUTSqol score was 34.9 (SD 7.6). UI severity significantly affected QoL; the adjusted mean ICIQ-LUTSqol score increased by 1.5 points for each 1.0-point increase in the overall ICIQ-UI SF score (p < 0.001). The UI type also significantly affected QoL; the adjusted mean ICIQ-LUTSqol score was 2.5 points higher in women with UUI/MUI compared to those with SUI (p < 0.001). Conclusions We found that women that turned to e-health for UI self-management advice had a reduced QoL, as shown previously among women seeking UI care through conventional avenues, and that the severity of leakage had a greater impact on QoL than the type of UI. Condition-specific factors impacted the QoL slightly less among women that turned to e-health, compared to women that sought help in ordinary care. Thus, e-health might have reached a new group of women in need of UI treatment.

Analysis of Characteristics and Quality of Life of Elderly Women with Mild to Moderate Urinary Incontinence in Community Dwellings

“…Several studies on this topic have demonstrated that UI has certain impacts on women's life; however, debate exists on which type of UI has the greatest impact on QOL of UI patients. Our study found that urgent urine leakage of UUI and MUI had worse impact on QOL than SUI, which is similar to Åström et al [39] who mentioned that the QOL of women with urgency and mixed UI was affected more than that of women with stress UI by ICIQ-LUTSqol score assessment. Bunyavejchevin et al [40] and Coyne et al [41] also demonstrated results by different QOL questionnaires that are consistent with our study.…”

A mobile app for the treatment of female mixed and urgency incontinence: a cost-effectiveness analysis in Sweden

“…It was also higher than the incremental QALY gains (0.01) reported by Albers-Heitner et al from a primary care setting where women with SUI performed PFMT under the guidance of a specialist nurse or in a GP care-as-usual alternative [29]. The larger QALY gains in our study were expected, since MUI and UUI often have a greater negative impact on QoL than SUI [3,30], and thus there is a larger potential for improvement. The QALY gain for the treatment group was lower than from pharmacological treatment, where QALY gains of 0.046 and 0.039 for anticholinergic and Botox treatment have been presented [28].…”

Urinary incontinence and related quality of life among elderly women in Tabas, South Khorasan, Iran

“…This syndrome is commonly underreported because most elderly people regard it as a consequence of aging and may even feel embarrassed to express it [ 12 ]. The three most common types of UI in women are stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urge urinary incontinence (UUI), or a combination of both, mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) [ 13 ]. In people with SUI, complaints of involuntary loss of urine during coughing, sneezing, and other physical exertions (e.g., sporting activities) increase intra-abdominal pressure, whereas the person with UUI suddenly feels the need to urinate (loss of urine associated with urgency).…”