Urinary Incontinence Amongst Malaysian Women in Selangor: Prevalence, Types and Risk Factors

Abstract

Information on urinary incontinence (UI) amongst Malaysian women remains incomplete and inconclusive. Of the few available studies, none had used the holistic approach to study UI amongst Malaysian women and information on the prevalence and the types of UI experienced by the Malaysian women therefore remains debatable. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of UI and its types in Malaysian females, determine the demographic characteristics of those with UI and to elucidate the association between potential risk factors and female UI. A validated, standardised Malay Monash Women Health Questionnaire (MMWHQ) was administered to 350 community dwelling, Malaysian women. The response rate was 86% (n=301). The dropout rate for interviews was 30%. Descriptive statistics and multinomial regression were applied. The estimated prevalence of UI (n=52) was 17.3 ± 4.65% (95% Confidence Interval 16.95 -26.25%). Majority of respondents had reported no UI (82.7%; n=249), while 8.0% of the respondents complained of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), 5% reported urge urinary incontinence (UUI) and 4.3% had mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). Most women with UI were of middle age, of Chinese ethnicity, with secondary education, with an income of <RM999/-per month, married, had undergone vaginal childbirth with or without episiotomy and had 1 to more than 4 children. There was a significant association between UI and risk factors including menopause, increased BMI, straining hard during defecation, coffee consumption and depression in the risk factor model. The Malay version QUID was found to be a user-friendly diagnostic tool to identify types of UI. The prevalence of SUI was higher than previously reported. The association between risk factors and UI observed in this study was somewhat similar to those previously reported in a number of studies in other populations.

Relationship between urinary incontinence and quality of life of older persons in Malaysia

“…To our knowledge, this study was the first nationwide investigation to determine the prevalence of UI according to its subtypes (SUI, UUI and MUI) among older persons and their impact on QoL. The prevalence of UI, which was 5.2% in our study, was lower compared with a previous study among a female population in Selangor (17.3%) 16 . The reasons for the difference in the prevalence of UI might be due to the construct of the question and the language or terminology used to describe the urinary symptoms.…”

“…The prevalence of UI, which was 5.2% in our study, was lower compared with a previous study among a female population in Selangor (17.3%). 16 The reasons for the difference in the prevalence of UI might be due to the construct of the question and the language or terminology used to describe the urinary symptoms. Women were significantly more likely to suffer from UI, compared with men, which was consistent with the findings of a previous study.…”

Knowledge, attitude and practice towards pelvic floor muscle training among childbearing women

“…The rationale for doing PFMT is to maximize the urethral pressure and improve the voluntary contraction of the muscle by improving pelvic floor muscle strength (6). In Malaysia, the prevalence of UI among women was 17.3% while for antenatal cases it was 34.3% during their third trimester (3). However, compared with Turkey, the prevalence of UI among pregnant women was high, with almost 80% with stress urinary incontinence (7).…”

Preliminary Findings on Urinary Incontinence Screening Among Childbearing Women Attending Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Kuantan

“…Nevertheless, urinary incontinence has been found significantly exposed to other morbidity, loss of quality of life, increased socioeconomic expenses but also lead to low individual self-confidence (2). Pathological of urinary incontinence is mainly due to the weaknesses of pelvic floor muscle (3).…”