Utility of opportunistic screening to assess the impact of urinary incontinence on quality of life and barriers to seeking treatment among women attending a tertiary healthcare centre in North India

Abstract Introduction Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common but frequently neglected problem in females, significantly impacting their psychosocial health. The available estimates are an underestimation of a bigger problem. Thus, the study aimed to estimate the prevalence of UI, its associated risk factors, its impact on the Quality of life (QoL), and barriers to treatment-seeking behaviour in women attending tertiary healthcare centres. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using an opportunistic screening among women visiting a tertiary care hospital in Punjab recruited using multi-stage systematic random sampling. UI was classified as Stress (SUI), Urge (UUI), mixed (MUI), and No Incontinence (UI less than once a week or a month or no complaints) using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire–Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). Bivariate analyses were done using the chi-square test to test the association between the dependent and independent variables. The predictors of UI were explored using univariable and multivariable binary logistic regression and depicted using Odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals. The impact of UI on Quality of Life (QoL) was assessed using the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire-Short Form (IIQ-7), and compared among the three UI types using One-Way ANOVA. Treatment barriers were explored using open-ended questions. Results Of the 601 women, 19.6% reported UI (stress UI: 10.1%, mixed UI: 6.0%, and urge UI: 3.5%). There were significant clinical-social factors that predicted different types of UI. The UI depicted a significant effect on QoL across all domains of the IIQ-7 (total mean score: 50.8 ± 21.9) compared to women with no incontinence (0.1 + 1.9). The score was highest in women with MUI, followed by SUI and UUI. About two-thirds of the affected women never consulted a doctor and considered it a non-serious condition or a normal ageing process. Conclusions The present study found a high prevalence of UI through opportunistic screening across all the women’s age groups with different conditions. Due to the associated stigma, clinicians should make every attempt to talk more about this, especially in women with medical conditions that can precipitate UI. Furthermore, the results call for generating more robust estimates through community-based screening studies.