The Risk Factor Associated with Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) Severity: a Cross-Sectional Multi-centered Study

Background: Stress urinary incontinence is defined as involuntary loss of urine on effort or exertion or with coughing or sneezing. SUI affects as many as 75% of older women, 44-57% of middle-aged, and 25% of young women. Risk factors include age, parity, vaginal birth, menopause, obesity, body mass index, diabetes, hysterectomy, chronically increased abdominal pressure, genetic factors, physical activity level, smoking, diet, and family history. Our purpose was to determine which risk factors are associated with the severity of stress urinary incontinence using a 1-hour pad test. Method: This cross-sectional multicentered study was performed on 178 women who complained of incontinence and had completed QUID for SUI. We collected data using a pad test, and we classified those women into two main groups, women with mild SUI with 1-hour pad test results 1-10 g and women with moderate and severe SUI with 1-hour pad test results more than 10 g. We use Phi and Cramer’s V to calculate the effect size of each risk factor. Results: There were 20 women with moderate and severe SUI, and 158 had mild SUI. We analyzed the risk factors associated with moderate-severe SUI women and found that age (p=0.03), perineometer result (p = 0.04), and level of education (p=0.02) are statistically significant. Conclusion: The severity of stress urinary incontinence is related to age, perineometer result, and level of education.