Sarcopenia risk as a predictor of urinary incontinence in women aged 50 and older: a cross-sectional analysis

Urinary Incontinence (UI) has multiple negative effects on women's health. Multiple risk factors were investigated previously in different settings and populations. This study aims to determine the association between UI and the risk of sarcopenia and other associated risk factors among women above the age of 50 years in Hungary. This cross-sectional study included 215 women aged ≥ 50 years. Participants were recruited from community-dwelling and nursing homes. The survey included medical and obstetric information, UI was assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Modules (ICIQ-FLUTS), and risk of sarcopenia was assessed by SARC-F. This study adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Statement (STROBE) checklist for cross-sectional studies to report the results. The protocol for the study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT05313360. Four hundred and thirty-four individuals were invited to participate, and at the final stage, 215 participants were available for the final analysis. In addition to the risk of sarcopenia, age when giving the first delivery and the number of complications during birth were risk factors for UI. Further longitudinal studies are recommended to investigate the association over extended periods.