Prevalence of Stress Urinary Incontinence and Risk Factors among Saudi Females

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is involuntary urine leakage upon effort or physical exertion, sneezing, or coughing, and it is the most prevalent type of urinary incontinence (UI) in women. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of SUI and its risk factors among Saudi females. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between March 2022 and July 2022, with a total of 842 respondents. We included Saudi females over the age of 20 years. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to the target group and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The prevalence of SUI was found to be 3.3% among Saudi women. Moreover, only 41.8% of the participants had at least one pregnancy; the majority had five or more pregnancies (29%). According to our findings, the majority of the participants diagnosed with SUI had the following risk factors: increased age, widowhood, a family history of SUI, and a history of pregnancy. The results revealed that the odds of SUI increased among Saudi females with a family history of SUI by 19.68-fold compared with those who had no family history of SUI, and this was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The prevalence of SUI among Saudi females was found to be relatively low. The above-listed associated factors should be considered in future research and interventions.