Objective: Urinary incontinence (UI) affects the quality of life of millions of women world-wide. Prevalence estimates for UI range from 10% to 40%, but information on young and mid-life women, especially among Hispanics, is limited. This study estimated UI prevalence and its association with body mass index (BMI) in a population-based sample of 276 female residents of Bayamó n, Puerto Rico (PR) aged 21-64 years. Methods: A cluster sampling design was employed. Women were interviewed to gather data on sociodemographic, clinical, gynecologic, and UI characteristics. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study sample. Bivariate analyses of factors potentially associated with UI and BMI were conducted using generalized linear models (GLM). Multivariate GLM was used to determine the covariate adjusted association between BMI and UI. Results: The prevalence of UI was 34.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.4-40.6%). Among women with UI, stress incontinence was most frequent (46.8%), followed by mixed (41.5%) and urge incontinence (11.7%). More than 45% of participants were either overweight (25 kg=m 2 BMI 29.9 kg=m 2 ) or obese (BMI ! 30 kg=m 2 ). The adjusted analysis revealed that women with a BMI ! 30 kg=m 2 had 1.96 ( p ¼ 0.06) times the probability of having UI compared to women with a BMI < 25 kg=m 2 . Conclusions: UI is a public health problem among this population, and obesity marginally increases the possibility of having this condition. Public health efforts should focus on reducing obesity in PR, in order to have an impact on UI morbidity.

Urinary incontinence is a very frequent symptom in our population. Half the incontinent subjects suffer from some degree of psychosocial limitation. The volume of urine loss and being married are the most important factors with psychosocial impact.

Prevalence of UI is high, incidence is moderate and remission is low. Urinary incontinence is a dynamic problem and does not affect mortality. Impaired mobility has a strong influence on UI incidence.

Seeking of UI medical help was very limited and depends on variables related to perception in symptom's changes. Diagnosis and treatment done by professionals was suboptimal. Severity of UI conditions diagnosis and treatment.

Introduction: Identifying individuals at highest risk for cancer may improve prevention and early detection efforts in these populations. Nonetheless, awareness and use of genetic testing remains low, particularly among ethnic minorities in the United States. Given the lack of information on the subject particularly for Puerto Ricans, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and correlates of genetic testing awareness and use in a population-based sample of adults in Puerto Rico. Methods: We analyzed data from adults aged (18+ years) participating in the 2009 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) conducted in Puerto Rico (n=639), with complete information regarding age, sex, genetic test awareness, and use (n=611,95.6%). Using the Spanish version of the HINTS 2007-2008 survey, the HINTS Puerto Rico data collection was conducted from April to June 2009 through the PR-Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (PR-BRFSS) telephone research center. The 2009 PR-HINTS utilized a cross-sectional, complex sample survey design, data weighting, and jackknife variance estimation. Prevalence odds ratios were estimated with 95% confidence intervals using logistic regression models in order to identify factors associated with genetic testing awareness and use in Puerto Rico. Awareness about genetic tests was measured by the following item: “Genetic tests that analyze your DNA, diet, and lifestyle for potential health risks are currently being marketed by companies directly to consumers. Have you heard or read about these genetic tests.” Results: Mean age of study participants was 45.9 years; 52.9% of participants were women and 47.1 % were men. Overall, 55.8% (95% CI=48.4%-63.2%) of the study population had heard or read about genetic tests, while only 4.3% (95% CI=1.6%-7.0%) had ever had any of these tests performed. In multivariate analysis, no differences in awareness of genetic tests were observed by age, sex, or educational attainment (p&gt;0.05); whereas, marital status was associated with genetic test awareness. Those married/living together and those divorced/separated/widowed were more likely to be aware of genetic tests compared to those never married (p&lt;0.05). Current smokers were less likely than never smokers (OR=0.52,95% CI: 0.31-0.88) to be aware of genetic tests, whereas no differences were observed between former and never smokers (p&gt;0.05). Those who ever sought cancer information were two times as likely to had heard or read about genetic testing of their existence (OR=2.01,95% CI=1.05-3.82); however health information was not associated with awareness of genetic tests in multivariate analyses, those who had sought information on cancer were twice. Neither personal nor family history of cancer were associated with genetic testing awareness (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusions: This study provides the first published data on the awareness and use of genetic tests in Puerto Rico. Although our results for test awareness and use are higher than those reported in the U.S. in the 2006 Health Styles national survey (14% and 0.6%, respectively), 40% of the population remains unaware of their existence. This information is relevant for determining the need for population-based outreach and education efforts in this area. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):A36.

Our elderly persons were not aware of the possibilities for treatment of incontinence, a fact that may have a negative impact on sufferers seeking help for this remediable problem.

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