Urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction in Asian-American women.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to describe the prevalence, risk factors, and impact of urinary incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders among Asian-American women.


METHODS
This was a population-based cohort study of older women randomly selected from age and race strata.


RESULTS
Weekly urinary incontinence was reported by 65 of 345 Asian women (18%), with stress and urge incontinence being approximately equally common. In multivariate analysis, higher body mass index (greater than 25 kg/m2) was associated with both stress incontinence (odds ratio 4.90, 95% confidence interval 1.76 to 13.68) and urge incontinence (odds ratio 2.49, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 6.16) in Asians. Hysterectomy was a significant risk factor for stress incontinence (odds ratio 2.79, 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 7.54). Only 34% of Asian women with weekly urinary incontinence reported ever having sought treatment. Pelvic floor exercises were the most common form of treatment, being used by 29% of Asian women with weekly incontinence. Asians were less likely then white women to report anal incontinence (21% versus 29%, P = .007), although this difference became nonsignificant after adjusting for differences in risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Asian women share some risk factors for stress and urge urinary incontinence with white women. Urinary incontinence is associated with anal incontinence among Asian women.
Huang
A J
AJ
Division of General Medicine, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, VAMC 111A1, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. ajhuan@yahoo.com
Thom
D H
DH
Kanaya
A M
AM
Wassel-Fyr
C L
CL
Van den Eeden
S K
SK
Ragins
A I
AI
Subak
L L
LL
Brown
J S
JS
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology