Prospective questionnaire-based evaluation of the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women with chronic cough.
OBJECTIVE
Because chronic cough leads to repeated increases in intra-abdominal pressure, it might cause or unmask stress urinary incontinence (SUI). To test this hypothesis, we performed a cross-sectional prospective survey of women with chronic cough and female subjects without cough symptoms.


METHODS
A group of women with chronic cough (n = 297) presenting at a specialty asthma/allergy clinic over an 18-month period and a control group (n = 106) completed a self-administered survey that included the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI)-6 questionnaire and a global quality of life (QOL) question. Subjects on medication for bladder symptoms (n = 14) or who had undergone prior anti-incontinence surgery (n = 29) were excluded.


RESULTS
263 patients and 97 control subjects met criteria for analysis. Chronic cough patients were older than control subjects (median 41 versus 35 years; p < 0.001). There was no difference in weight between groups (p = 0.544). The UDI-6 question responses correlated with each other and with the responses to the QOL questions (p values <or=0.002). Chronic cough patients were more bothered by urinary frequency (UDI question 1, 33 vs. 20%, p = 0.018), sense of incomplete emptying (UDI question 5, 10 vs. 3%, p = 0.047). There was no statistical difference in SUI between chronic cough patients and controls (UDI question 3, 24 vs. 15%, p = 0.059).


CONCLUSIONS
Based on this exploratory study, we found no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of SUI between patients with or without chronic cough. However, increased urinary frequency may have had a protective effect on SUI, thereby masking a larger difference in SUI.
Shariat
Shahrokh F
SF
Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9110, USA.
Zimmern
Philippe E
PE
Hilton
Kathleen
K
Gruchalla
Rebecca S
RS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003371:Cough / Q000150:complications*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult