title: Theories of urinary incontinence causation: aetiological descriptions by sub-Saharan African women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the perceived causes of urinary incontinence (UI) and factors associated with awareness of causes of UI among women in the community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analysis of data extracted from the Ibadan Urinary Incontinence Household Survey (IUIHS), a multi-stage community survey conducted among 5001 women in Nigeria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age was 34.8 years (SD=14.2). The majority had at least secondary education and were currently married. Within this population, 13% had ever leaked urine. On their perception of possible aetiological factors of UI, 20.5% mentioned pelvic floor or bladder-related causes such as stress incontinence triggers and bladder problems; 14.6% mentioned uncontrollable factors such as medical comorbidity, age and prior surgery; 8.8% attributed the cause to being female; and 6.8% mentioned sex-related factors. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed significantly lower odds of awareness of the aetiology of urinary incontinence among women aged less than 30 years, those with lower level of education, rural women, those with five or more children and women without history of urine leakage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study shows a low level of awareness of possible cause of UI amongst women surveyed. We recommend health education and mobilization of women on the right aetiological factors of UI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine/University College Hospital, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. onembello@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Imran O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Morhason-Bello
authors.forename: Oladosu A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Ojengbede
authors.forename: Babatunde O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Adedokun
authors.forename: Ngozi S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Okonkwo
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kolade
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology*; D014930:Women