Prevalence and incidence of urinary incontinence in women: Review of the literature and investigation of methodological issues

Urinary incontinence in women is common and has a significant impact on the physical, psychological and socio-economic aspects of life. The aims of this study were to review the published reports on the prevalence and incidence of urinary incontinence in Australian women and to examine the methodological issues associated with these studies. Electronic searches of Medline, EMBASE and the Current Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases were undertaken using 'Medical Subject Heading' terms and 'free text' words. We retrieved papers that investigated the prevalence and/or incidence of urinary incontinence in Australian women and were published in English after 1980. Methodological data from each study were tabulated. Seven studies were identified which examined the prevalence of urinary incontinence and two studies that reported its incidence. The prevalence of urinary incontinence varied between 12.8% and 46.0%. Study heterogeneity was a consequence of response rates, the inclusion of women in institutional care, the method of data collection, the questions used to identify different types of urinary incontinence and the way these questions were reported, the period over which the urinary incontinence had occurred and the severity of the incontinence. Two studies which examined incidence provided evidence that urinary incontinence can be a transient phenomenon. Research into the incidence and prevalence of urinary incontinence in Australian women exhibits significant heterogeneity in the findings due to methodological limitations. There is a need for future studies to employ validated instruments and give careful attention to the selection of participants and the reporting of age-specific data.