Urinary incontinence amongst Malaysian women in Selangor: Prevalence, Types and Risk Factors

Hardip Kaur Dhillon (Leading Author), Kia Fatt Quek, Harbindar Jeet Singh, Gupreet Kaur, Anuar Zaini Md Zain, Rusli Bin Nordin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearch

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. Keywords: Malaysian Female UI, Malay - Version Questionnaire Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID), Malay Monash Women Health Questionnaire (MMWHQ), Prevalence, UI Types, Risk Factors Model
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10-19
Number of pages10
JournalWorld Journal of Public Health
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

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