Race and ethnicity do not contribute to differences in preoperative urinary incontinence severity or symptom bother in women who undergo stress incontinence surgery.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether race/ethnicity affects urinary incontinence (UI) severity and bother in women who undergo surgery for stress incontinence.


METHODS
We used baseline data from participants in the Stress Incontinence Surgical Treatment Efficacy trial. UI severity was measured by the number of leakage episodes during a 3-day urinary diary and by urodynamic evaluation. UI bother was measured with the Urogenital Distress Inventory. Race/ethnicity classification was based on self-report.


RESULTS
Of the 654 women, 72 women (11%) were Hispanic; 480 women (73%) were non-Hispanic white; 44 women (6.7%) were non-Hispanic black, and 58 women (8.9%) were of other race/ethnicity. No differences were seen in any UI severity measures. Non-Hispanic white women had the lowest Urogenital Distress Inventory scores on bivariate analysis, which was explained by socioeconomic status, body mass index, and age on multivariate analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
Factors other than racial/ethnic differences underlie variations in UI symptoms and bother in this group of women who sought surgery for stress incontinence.
Kraus
Stephen R
SR
Department of Urology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA. Krauss@uthscsa.edu
Markland
Alayne
A
Chai
Toby C
TC
Stoddard
Anne
A
FitzGerald
Mary Pat
MP
Leng
Wendy
W
Mallett
Veronica
V
Tennstedt
Sharon L
SL
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012923:Social Class; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000601:surgery; D013519:Urogenital Surgical Procedures; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*