Investigation of body image, self‐esteem, and quality of life in women with urinary incontinence

Abstract

Aim The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of urinary incontinence on body image, self‐esteem, and quality of life. Methods The study was conducted with 218 women with urinary incontinence. The study data were collected using the Socio‐Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Body Cathexis Scale, Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, and Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire. Results There was a weak, statistically significant, positive relationship found between the Body Cathexis Scale total average scores and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale total average scores of the women and a weak, statistically significant, negative relationship with the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire total average scores. In addition, a weak, statistically significant, negative relationship was found between the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale total score averages and Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire total score averages. Significant effects were seen for body image score with pad usage; for self‐esteem in relation to number of deliveries, duration, and frequency of urinary incontinence; and for incontinence quality of life and duration and frequency of urinary incontinence and pad usage. Conclusions It was concluded that most of the women with urinary incontinence had negative body image and that more than half of them had moderate or low self‐esteem and a moderate quality of life.

Association between chronic conditions and urinary incontinence in females: a cross-sectional study using national survey data

“… 4 Most women experience persistent symptoms up to a decade after onset. 5 Well-being and daily function are profoundly affected by urinary incontinence, including higher odds of anxiety and depression, 6 lower quality of life, 7 diminished self-esteem, 8 and avoidance of social activities and intimacy. 9 – 11 …”

Efficacy, effectiveness, usability and acceptability of devices for female urinary incontinence: A scoping review

“…Twenty‐one articles were selected among which 2 systematic reviews (Lipp et al, 2014; Mugita et al, 2021), 1 randomised controlled trial (Sugama et al, 2012), 1 quasi experimental study (Teerawattananon et al, 2015), 1 prospective interventional cohort study (Moore et al, 2021), 1 prospective descriptive study (Motta & Milne, 2017), 2 cross‐sectional descriptive studies (Grzybowska & Wydra, 2017; Gümüşsoy et al, 2019), 2 retrospective studies (Warren et al, 2021; Zavodnick et al, 2020), 1 product evaluation trial (Long et al, 2015), 1 pilot study (Jeong et al, 2016), 1 open‐label uncontrolled trial (Farage et al, 2011), 1 cost analysis study (Fader et al, 2010), 1 quality improvement project (Eckert et al, 2020), 1 qualitative study (Ostaszkiewicz et al, 2018; Raepsaet et al, 2021), 1 case study (Beeson & Davis, 2018), 4 conference paper (Dublynn & Episcopia, 2019; Fritsch et al, 2019; Maydick‐Youngberg et al, 2020; Mueller, 2019; Peters et al, 2021).…”

The Impact of Urinary Incontinence on Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Metropolitan City of Naples

“…Finally, a statistical significance was identified as regards the correlation between the time of onset of the symptoms and the severity. In the study, those who had suffered from UI for more than 5 years had greater severity of symptoms, and with it also a greater impairment of QOL [ 9 ]. This could be explained by a possible evolution of the clinical picture over time.…”

“…Discomfort caused by feeling “wet”, “dirty” or “smelly” leads many persons to restrict their social and physical activities such as exercise, shopping, dancing, going to church and visiting friends. In addition, UI patients often experience low self-esteem, low physical attractiveness, body negativity [ 9 ], inadequacy, stigmatisation and a reduction of sexual desire, which can lead to loneliness, self-isolation and depression [ 10 ]. In the most severe cases, even activities of daily life are compromised since patients must continually interrupt what they are doing to use the bathroom [ 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Many factors affect QOL in patients with UI: condition severity, age, self-perception, sex, comorbidities, etc. If other medical conditions are added to UI, e.g., obesity, QOL will be even lower because of worsening of the incontinence itself and because of the social stigmas of obesity [ 9 ] and of the disease itself [ 14 ].…”