The frequency and severity of urinary incontinence symptoms in the group of adult physically active women

Aim of the study. The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiology and severity of urinary incontinence (UI) in adult physically active women. Material and methods. In order to conduct the study, a total of 171 questionnaires have been collected from physically active women aged 18+. In order to follow UI diagnostic purposes the study was based on International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire– Urinary Incontinence Short Form. The gathered data was analysed with the use of Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS Statistics 29 programs. Values of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results. After analysing the study group (n = 171, av. age 33 years) authors found a total of 42.1% women reporting UI incidents during their physical activity. Highest UI occurrence was observed by the patients during their anaerobic strength training with additional loads (14.1%), running (11%) and general fitness training (8.9%). In the study we did not find a significant relation between the UI occurrence, type of activity as well as the specificity of the training. Group of women with a UI in the questionnaire was however older (av. 5 years) than those without such incident being reported (p < 0.001). At the same time those with a higher number of labours were more likely to sustain a UI compared with those who have not experienced childbirth at all (p < 0.001). Conclusions. A high UI incidence in physically active women shows the need for proper education on the matter with the emphasis on those who train specific UI susceptible disciplines.