Association between chronic conditions and urinary incontinence in females: a cross-sectional study using national survey data

Background: Urinary incontinence affects up to half of women, yet few speak to their health care provider about or receive treatment for the condition. To aid with identifying subpopulations at risk for urinary incontinence, we examined the associations between 10 chronic health conditions and urinary incontinence among Canadian adult females. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2013–2014) involving female respondents aged 25 years or older living in a private dwelling. Presence of chronic conditions and urinary incontinence were measured by self-report. We used logistic regression modelling with sampling weights, controlling for age, income, ethnicity, body mass index and smoking. Multiple imputation and probabilistic bias analysis were used to address missing covariate data and unmeasured confounding from parity. Results: Our analysis included 60 186 respondents representing more than 12 million Canadian females, of whom 45.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 45.0%–46.6%) reported at least 1 chronic condition. Chronic conditions were associated with more than twice the odds of urinary incontinence (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.42, 95% CI 2.02–2.89). Associations were largest for bowel disorders (adjusted OR 2.92, 95% CI 2.44–3.49); modest for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (adjusted OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.63–2.45), asthma (adjusted OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.52–2.19), arthritis (adjusted OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.74–2.24) and heart disease (adjusted OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.48–2.02); and smallest for diabetes (adjusted OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.41) and high blood pressure (adjusted OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.12–1.44). Results slightly attenuated but did not substantively change after imputation and bias analysis. Interpretation: We found that chronic conditions are associated with significantly higher odds of comorbid urinary incontinence among Canadian adult females, which is consistent with previous research. Our findings support routine inquiry regarding urinary incontinence symptoms among women accessing health care for chronic conditions.