No Relationship Between Subjective Assessment of Urinary Incontinence and Pad Test Weight Gain in a Random Population Sample of Menopausal Women

PURPOSE: We studied the association between urinary incontinence and pad weight gain during a 24-hour pad test in healthy menopausal women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Menopausal women 45 to 58 years old were randomly sampled from the national register. Information on self-reported urinary incontinence was collected at patient interview using a structured questionnaire. A 24-hour home pad test was performed and episodes of urinary incontinence during the pad test were noted. RESULTS: A total of 144 women 45 to 57 years old (mean age 50) were included in the study. At the interview 99 subjects (69%) reported urinary continence and 45 (31%) reported incontinence. Of the continence group 78 women (80%) performed the pad test and the mean weight gain was 3.1 gm. (range 0 to 9). Of the incontinence group 38 women (84%) performed the pad test and the mean weight gain was 3.3 gm. (range 0 to 8, not significant). Of the 38 women in the incontinence group 16 reported 1 or more episodes of urinary incontinence, whereas the remaining 22 reported no incontinence during the pad test. There was no difference in pad weight gain between these 2 groups (mean gain 3.3 gm., range 0 to 8). CONCLUSIONS: The subjective assessment of urinary incontinence was frequent but it was not associated with the objective findings of the 24-hour pad test.