ICS and the Bristol Urological Institute has partnered with Proctor & Gamble to undertake research into the impact of UI on the quality of life of women. The study was led by Professor Paul Abrams and Dr Nikki Cotterill, and Professor Andy Smith of the University of Cardiff and results feature in the British Journal of Urology (BJUI).
With more than a third of the female population over the age of 18 having experienced incontinence at some point in their lives, highlights of the study uncover that women with UI are getting on with their lives but have a considerable unspoken impact on their quality of life. In fact, 15% of all women with UI believe that it affects their work or daily activities moderately or a lot, while over a third of all women with UI say it affects their ability to travel. Whilst 40% of women use pads ‘sometimes’, 15% of women with severe UI never wear pads to protect themselves. Additionally, the anxiety felt by women experiencing UI was evident with 69% of women expressing concern they might smell, and 65% of women with severe UI regarding themselves as being ‘moderately’ or ‘very much’ depressed because of their UI.
The full study can be downloaded here.
This information is based on study “The Impact of Urinary Incontinence on Quality of Life: Results from a survey in France, Germany, the UK and the USA” by authors Paul Abrams, Nikki Cotterill and Andrew Smith, published in BJUI International.