Urinary Incontinence and Quality of Life in Young Women in a Family Health Center in Santiago de Chile

Abstract

Aim. To determine the association between Quality of Life (QOL) and Urinary Incontinence (UI) in women of ages between 20 and 44 from the Santa Julia Family Health Center, Santiago de Chile. Materials and methods. Analytical cross-sectional study carried out from September to December 2018. Of 661 women surveyed, 184 referred UI, of these, 170 participated in the study. Average age value 33.84 years. For UI, the Sandvik Scale was applied and for QoL and HRQoL, the ICIQ-SF and Potenziani instruments were applied, respectively. Results. The prevalence of UI was 27.8%. The severity of the UI was moderate in 55.9%, severe in 12.3% and very severe in 1.8%. According to the ICIQ-SF, the impact of UI on QoL from moderate to very intense was 65.9% (18.8% moderate, 22.9% intense and 24.2% very intense). According to the Potenziani questionnaire, 1 in 4 women in the study perceives an intense impact on their QoL. Chi Square and Cramer's V Coefficient were applied, observing a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation of 0.419 between UI and CV severity. In addition, a moderate and statistically significant positive correlation of 0.463 between the impact perceived by women and the impact on their QoL. Conclusions. UI affects women's QoL from an early age and increases with age. It is essential to diagnose early, generate public health policies and implement local strategies to treat this biopsychosocial pathology.