Which urinary incontinence inquiry form should be used in women with urinary incontinence?

Objective: To determine urinary incontinence (UI) inquiry forms to be used in the follow-up of incontinence according to UI type.

Materials and methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at the University of Health Science Hospital between 2020 and 2022. A total of 449 patients referred for urodynamic evaluation for UI were included herein, and clinical results regarding UI types were collected and reviewed. The validated urogenital distress inventory 6 (UDI-6), incontinence impact questionnaire (IIQ-7), and incontinence quality of life (I-QOL) questionnaires were completed by all patients. The demographic data of the patients, total questionnaire scores, and urodynamic results were compared between the groups according to UI type.

Results: Forty-nine percent of the participants were in the menopausal period, and 41% required regular ped use. A total of 52.1% of patients experienced 5 years of UI. Stress incontinence was reported in 4.2% of patients, urge incontinence in 10%, stress-predominant mixed UI in 59.2%, and urge-predominant mixed UI in 24.7%. The mean ± standard deviation values were 59.62±20.62 for the UDI-6, 54.72±24.84 for the IIQ-7, 62.41±23.52 for the total I-QOL, 21.85±8.55 for the I-QOL limitation of behaviors subscale, 27.99±10.86 for the I-QOL psychological influence subscale, and 12.64±5.72 for the I-QOL social isolation subscale. A statistically significant difference was assessed between the urodynamics results and the UDI-6, IIQ-7, total I-QOL, I-QOL limitation of behaviors subscale, I-QOL psychological influence subscale, and I-QOL social isolation subscale scores (p<0.001 for all variables).

Conclusion: In patients diagnosed with UI, when each of the 3 questionnaires for UI diagnosis was compared, the best inquiry questionnaire for the prediction of mixed-type UI was the UDI-6.