Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women with type 2 diabetes in the North West Bank and to assess the role of potential risk factors including age, marital status, and diabetes control.

Methods: Adult diabetic women attending governmental primary health care centres in the north West Bank, Palestine were interviewed using the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-CDC) standardized incontinence questionnaire. SPSS version 22 was used for data entry and analysis. The prevalence of urinary incontinence was estimated and differences between groups were evaluated using chi-square test. The significant level was set at P value of <0.05. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at An-Najah National University, and official permission to conduct the study was obtained from the Ministry of Health.

Results: The study included 381 participants aged 30-83 years. 43.2 % (95% CI = 37.9%- 47.8%) reported incontinence regardless of the type. About 40% of them reported that they are highly bothered by the condition and 35.2% of them stated that their daily routine life is highly affected. Among urinary incontinence women, 133 (80.6%) and 128 (77.6%) were found to have the urge and stress incontinence, respectively. Results showed significant relationship between incontinence and age (p<0.001), BMI (p=0.04), parity (p=0.04) and recurrent history of UTI (p=<0.001)

Conclusions: The prevalence of urinary incontinence among Palestinian female diabetic patients regardless of the type is high. The findings highlight the importance of educating diabetic women on urinary incontinence. The medical team should focus on this problem as it is neglected somehow; physicians should be alert for urinary incontinence because it is often not reported and therefore it is undertreated.

Conference Title

Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance (LPHA) 10th Annual Conference. Health of Palestinians inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territory

Conference Country

Jordan

Conference Date

March 27, 2019 - March 28, 2019

Conference Sponsor

Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance (LPHA)

Additional Info

Conference Website