Female Incontinence a Prevalent Problem

At least 1 in 4 U.S. women reports incontinence or prolapse, study finds

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 25 percent of American women have a pelvic floor disorder, such as urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, according to new research.

"This study showed that pelvic floor disorders are exceedingly common in women in the United States," said the study's lead author, Dr. Ingrid Nygaard, a professor in the division of urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

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And, though these disorders are prevalent, women don't always bring them up with their doctors, said Nygaard. "Pelvic floor disorders are not talked about often, and women are often too embarrassed to bring them up" with their doctors, she said.

Said Dr. Victor Nitti, vice chairman of urology at New York University Langone Medical Center: "I don't think there's any question that pelvic floor disorders are underreported. Some women are embarrassed, and some think they're a normal part of aging. Either way, it's not something women will often report spontaneously."

The new study, published in the Sept. 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, reviewed data from almost 2,000 women over the age of 20 who had participated in the 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This study group is considered to be representative of the U.S. population. None of the women included in the data analysis was pregnant at the time of the study.

The women were interviewed at home and underwent a physical in a mobile examination center. Urinary incontinence was diagnosed based on scoring more than "three" on an incontinence severity index. Fecal incontinence was diagnosed if women reported having at least once monthly leakage of stool. And pelvic organ prolapse was diagnosed if women reported feeling a bulge inside or outside of the vagina. (Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when one of the pelvic organs, such as the uterus, drops and presses on the vagina.)

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