title: The effect of non-surgical weight loss interventions on urinary incontinence in overweight women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Although the aetiology of urinary incontinence can be multifactorial, in some cases weight loss could be considered as a part of the therapeutic approach for urinary incontinence in people who are overweight. The objective of this study was to review and meta-analyse the effect of non-surgical weight loss interventions on urinary incontinence in overweight women. Web of Science, PubMed, Pedro, SPORTDiscus and Cochrane were systematically searched for clinical trials that met the a priori set criteria. Data of women who participated in non-surgical weight loss interventions (diet, exercise, medication or a combination) were included in the meta-analysis. After removing duplicates, 62 articles remained for screening on title, abstract and full text. Six articles (totalling 2,352 subjects in the intervention groups) were included for meta-analysis. The mean change in urinary incontinence (reported as frequency or quantity, depending on the study) after a non-surgical weight loss intervention, expressed as standardized effect size and corrected for small sample sizes (Hedges' g), was -0.30 (95%CI = -0.47 to -0.12). This systematic review and meta-analysis shows evidence that a non-surgical weight loss intervention has the potential to improve urinary incontinence and should be considered part of standard practice in the management of urinary incontinence in overweight women.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vissers
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neels
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vermandel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Wachter
authors.forename: W A A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Tjalma
authors.forename: J-J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wyndaele
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taeymans
mesh_terms: D004038:Diet, Reducing; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D015431:Weight Loss
keywords: Meta-analysis; obesity; urinary incontinence; weight loss