Coital incontinence in women with urinary incontinence: Results from an international cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Coital Incontinence (CI) is an under-reported symptom in sexually active women with pelvic floor dysfunction. Objectives of our study were to evaluate the prevalence of CI in women with Urinary Incontinence (UI), its impact on female sexuality and Quality of Life (QoL) and associated risks factors. MATERIAL & METHODS: This international, multicenter, cross-sectional study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02306655. Sexually active adult women with UI were enrolled. They were asked about CI during penetration, intercourse and orgasm and its impact on the quality and frequency of their sexual life. Patient evaluation included demographics, medical and urogynaecological history. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ-UI) and the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC) were administered. Associations of demographic and other patient variables to types of CI were sought using univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses at a significance level of p < 0.05. RESULTS: 576 women with mean age of 53.6±11years were included. 36.1% of women had CI: 17.7% at penetration, 28.3% during intercourse and 17% at orgasm. Results of univariate and multivariate analyses are presented in Tables 1 and 2. According to ICIQ-UI scores, increased severity of UI positively correlated with CI (p= 0.007) and had a negative impact on the quality (p<0.001) and frequency (p=0.002) of sexual activity. CI also positively correlated with age (p<0.001), mixed UI with predominant stress component (p=0.008), vaginal delivery (p=0.002), previous hysterectomy (p=0.004) and thyroid disease (p=0.013).