Associations between Socioeconomic Status and Urge Urinary Incontinence: An Analysis of NHANES 2005 to 2016

PURPOSE: Urge urinary incontinence significantly impacts quality of life. We investigated the association between urge urinary incontinence and socioeconomic status in a nationally representative adult population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the 2005 to 2016 NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), a United States population based, cross-sectional study. Urge urinary incontinence was determined by self-report of leaking urine before reaching the toilet. Socioeconomic status was represented by the poverty income ratio, which reflects the family income relative to poverty thresholds specific to that year and household size. Survey weighted logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between socioeconomic status and the poverty income ratio. Multiplicative terms were applied to test for interaction in prespecified subgroups of interest. RESULTS: or greater, or less than a high school education on the association of urge urinary incontinence with the poverty income ratio. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a significant association between urge urinary incontinence and socioeconomic status after meaningful adjustment for covariates. Health care interventions targeting low socioeconomic status individuals with urge urinary incontinence are needed to address this disparity.