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Risk factors for urinary incontinence among postmenopausal Mexican women

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Previous studies of racial/ethnic variation in urinary incontinence (UI) suggest that population-specific studies of UI risk factors are needed to develop appropriate public health recommendations. We assessed UI risk factors among postmenopausal Mexican women enrolled in the Mexican Teachers’ Cohort.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 15,296 postmenopausal women who completed the 2008 questionnaire. UI cases were women who reported experiencing UI during menopause. Self-reported potential UI risk factors included age, reproductive variables, smoking status, adiposity, and several health conditions. We estimated multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for UI using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Among these postmenopausal women, the prevalence of UI was 14 %. Odds of UI were higher among women with ≥4 children vs nulliparous women (OR 1.43, 95 % CI 1.04–1.96) or body mass index (BMI) ≥30 vs <22 kg/m2 (OR 2.00, 95 % CI: 1.55–2.57). Age at first birth <20 vs 20–24 years, past or current vs never smoking, larger waist-to-hip ratio, and history of asthma, high blood pressure, or diabetes were also associated with higher odds of UI (OR 1.2–1.3). We found a trend of lower odds of UI with older age.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that information about UI and UI prevention strategies might be particularly useful for Mexican postmenopausal women with 4 or more children or higher BMI. Further studies with longitudinal UI data, in addition to data on UI severity and subtype, are needed to provide more specific information about UI risk factors to Mexican women.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful first and foremost to all MTC participants for their time and commitment. We would like to thank the educational authorities, with special thanks to Victor Sastré, Director de Regulación, for their continued support. We thank the staff of the Medical Directorate of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) for their technical and administrative support. This work was supported by the American Institute for Cancer Research (05B047), CONACYT (14429), Ministry of Health Mexico, Avon Cosmetics, Fundación Banorte, and Fundación Gruma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Mary K. Townsend

  2. Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, 7ª Cerrada Fray Pedro de Gante # 50, Mexico City, Cuernavaca, 14000, Mexico

    Martín Lajous & Ruy López-Ridaura

  3. Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Martín Lajous

  4. Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, U1018 Research Unit, Villejuif, France

    Martín Lajous

  5. National Institute of Geriatrics, Mexico City, Mexico

    Raúl Hernán Medina-Campos

  6. Department of Medicine, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico

    Andres Catzin-Kuhlmann

  7. Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Megan S. Rice

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  1. Mary K. Townsend
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Correspondence to Martín Lajous.

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Townsend, M.K., Lajous, M., Medina-Campos, R.H. et al. Risk factors for urinary incontinence among postmenopausal Mexican women. Int Urogynecol J 28, 769–776 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-016-3196-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-016-3196-0

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