Clinical impact of and contributing factors to urinary incontinence in women 5 years after first delivery.
OBJECTIVE
This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of and contributing factors to urinary incontinence (UI) in women 5 years after their first birth and to evaluate the associations of UI with delivery mode and quality of life.


METHODS
Between 2005 July and 2006 March, primiparous women who delivered at term in a tertiary hospital were recruited into this cohort study. Immediately postpartum, the women completed a structured urogynecological questionnaire regarding lower urinary tract symptoms. Then the same urogynecological questionnaire, the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), and the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI-6) were mailed to them 5 years later to follow up on UI. Three hundred and twelve women responding to the mailed questionnaires were included in the analyses.


RESULTS
The prevalence 5 years after first delivery of stress (SUI) and urge (UUI) UI were 43.6 % and 19.2 %, respectively. Women with UI during their first pregnancy were more likely to develop UI 5 years postpartum than those without it; women who delivered their first child vaginally had a greater incidence of UI than those having cesarean birth; UUI in women following cesarean delivery more negatively impacted emotional health than it did following vaginal birth, whereas the impact of SUI did not significantly differ between delivery groups.


CONCLUSIONS
UI during the first pregnancy and vaginal delivery in primiparous women may predict an increased risk of having UI 5 years after delivery. UUI adversely affected women's emotional health, especially in those undergoing cesarean section.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Ching-Chung
CC
Liang
Ming-Ping
MP
Wu
Shu-Jen
SJ
Lin
Yu-Jr
YJ
Lin
Shuenn-Dhy
SD
Chang
Hui-Hsuan
HH
Wang
D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*