Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Medical Sciences, cilt.27, sa.2, ss.189-194, 2007 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore the association between generic quality of life and age and urinary incontinence (IU) severity among a random sample of adult Turkish women. Material and Methods: In total, 650 patients (mean age 33.2 ± 10.6 years, range 17-65 years) attending six Primary Health Care Centres located in the eastern Marmara Region/Turkey were enrolled in this study. All subjects completed a questionnaire including questions inquiring any kind of urinary leakage, related symptomatology and personal medical history along with SF-36 questionnaire after giving their informed consent Results: One hundred and six women (16.4%) reported UI. Women over the age of 30 years reported more impairment on domain subscale of role physical compared to their "younger" counterparts (83.61 ± 23.54 vs 88.03 ± 21.52). There was a negative correlation between the UI severity index and SF-36 subscale scores (r= -0.27 to -0.37, p< 0.001 for all) except for mental health (r= 0.08, p= 0.06). Advancing age and increasing UI severity were associated with significant impairment on all SF-36 domain subscales (p< 0.001, for all) but with small R squares. Conclusion: Neither age nor UI severity can explain the SF-36 quality of life changes; there are other potential risks to be determined. Despite generic quality of life questionnaire displays differences between incontinent women and controls, it is not solely adequate to determine the changes due to UI. Thus it is better be used along with an incontinence-related quality of life questionnaire. Copyright © 2007 by Türkiye Klinikleri.