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Kim, Kim, Kim, Kim, and Jeon: The impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence on female sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women
Original Article
Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2011; 54(12): 778-783.

Published online: 15 December 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.12.778

The impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence on female sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women

Jee Hyun Kim, MD1, Yun Hwan Kim, MD2, Jin Ju Kim, MD3, Sun Mie Kim, MD3, Myung Jae Jeon, MD1

1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Research Institute, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

3Health Care System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Corresponding author: Myung Jae Jeon, MD. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-744, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2072-1916, Fax: +82-2-762-3599, jeonmj@snu.ac.kr

Received 17 May 2011       Revised 7 August 2011       Accepted 15 September 2011

Copyright © 2011. Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the impact of symptomatic urinary incontinence (UI) on sexual function in middle- to old-aged Korean women.

Methods

From May 2009 to January 2010, a cross-sectional study was performed including middle- to old-aged, sexually active women who visited comprehensive screening clinic. We performed history taking, biometry, pelvic examination, laboratory test, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI)-20, and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Symptomatic UI was said to be present when the score for the problem-specific PFDI-16/17 questions were ≥2. Participants obtaining a total FSFI score of 26.55 or less were defined as having female sexual dysfunction (FSD).

Results

Among 773 enrolled women, 318 (41.14%) had symptomatic UI. FSD was significantly frequent in symptomatic UI group than normal group (62.26% vs. 49.45%, P < 0.05). Symptomatic UI was associated significantly with a total FSFI score in multiple linear regression model (standardized β = -0.108, P < 0.05). After adjustment of clinical risk factors for FSD by analysis of covariance analyses, symptomatic UI group had significantly lower scores than those of normal groups (24.59 vs. 25.74, P < 0.05), and this was observed in all sub-domains (desire 2.88 vs. 3.05; arousal 3.75 vs. 3.96; orgasm 4.11 vs. 4.36; satisfaction 4.15 vs. 4.33; pain 4.99 vs. 5.20, P < 0.05) except lubrication domain (4.70 vs. 4.84, P = 0.056).

Conclusion

Symptomatic UI is a risk factor for sexual dysfunction of middle- to old-aged women. Further studies should be followed to evaluate whether the treatment of symptomatic UI could restore the impaired sexual function.

Keywords: Urinary incontinence, Female sexual dysfunction, Female Sexual Function Index, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory

Figures and Tables

Table 1
Baseline characteristics of the study population
kjog-54-778-i001

Data are presented as mean±standard deviation or n (%).

UI, urinary incontinence; FI, fecal incontinence; POP, pelvic organ prolapse; BP, blood pressure; LDL, low density lipoprotein; HDL, high density lipoprotein.

Table 2
Multiple linear regression analysis for a total Female Sexual Function Index score
kjog-54-778-i002

Data of variables with no statistical significance were omitted.

UI, urinary incontinence; BP, blood pressure.

Table 3
Mean FSFI scores for women with and without symptomatic urinary incontinence
kjog-54-778-i003

Data are presented as mean±SE after adjusting for all confounding variables (age, menopause, married, parity ≥1, smoking, alcohol drinking, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, prior hysterectomy, prior sexual assault, symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse, symptomatic fecal incontinence, depression, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, education, and monthly household income) using analysis of covariance.

FSFI, Female Sexual Function Index; UI, urinary incontinence; LDL, low density lipoprotein; HDL, high density lipoprotein.

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