Urinary incontinence: the role of menopause.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to explore the effects of menopause and hormone therapy on the symptoms and signs of stress urinary incontinence and urge urinary incontinence.


METHODS
Records of women who attended a tertiary urogynecological unit were reviewed retrospectively. A standardized interview included evaluations of symptoms, menopause age (ie, time since last menstrual period or onset of menopausal symptoms), current or previous hormone use, and visual analogue scales for bother. Multichannel urodynamics, including urethral pressure profilometry and determination of abdominal leak point pressure, was performed.


RESULTS
Of 382 women seen during the inclusion period, 62% were postmenopausal. Current systemic or local hormone use was reported by 7% and 6%, respectively. Two hundred eighty-eight women (76%) reported symptoms of stress urinary incontinence, with a mean bother of 5.7, and 273 women (72%) reported symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, with a mean bother of 6.4. On univariate analysis, symptoms and bother of urge incontinence were significantly related to menopause age, whereas this relationship was not found for stress incontinence. After calendar age was controlled for, length of menopause showed no significant relationship with any symptom or sign of urinary incontinence.


CONCLUSIONS
Hormone deficiency after menopause is unlikely to play a major role in urinary incontinence.
From the 1Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sydney Medical School Nepean, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; 2Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 3Ginecología y Obstetricia, Clínica Alemana de Santiago, Santiago Región Metropolitana, Chile; and 4NHMRC Clinical Trial Center, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Gerda
G
Trutnovsky
Rodrigo Guzman
RG
Rojas
Kristy Pamela
KP
Mann
Hans P
HP
Dietz
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D053202:Urinary Incontinence, Urge / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology