Association of multimorbidity with higher levels of urinary incontinence: a cross-sectional study of 23 089 individuals aged >= 15 years residing in Spain

Abstract

Background One can assume a relatively high prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) in people with multimorbidity. However, literature in this area is scarce. There is a need for further robust research to aid GPs to identify patients at a particular risk for UI, and to initiate the early treatment and multidisciplinary management of this condition. Aim To examine the association between multimorbidity and UI in 23 089 individuals aged >= 15 years and residino in Spain. Design and setting This study used data flour the Spanish National Heatth Survey 2017, a cross-sectional sample of 23 089 participants aged >= 15 years residing in Spain (54.1% female; mean [standard deviation] age = 534[18.9] years). Method UI and 30 other physical and mental chronic conditions wore sell reported. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of 22 physical and/or mental chronic conditions (excluding UI). Control variables included sex, age, marital status, education, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between multimorbidity and UI. Results The prevalence of UI was 5.9% in this sample. UI was more frequent in the presence than in the absence of each one of the 30 chronic conditions (P<0.001). The proportion of people with UI was also higher in the multimorbidity than in the no-multimorbidity group (9.8% versus 0.7%, P<0.001). After adjusting for several potential confounders (that is. sex, age, marital status. education, smoking, and alcohol), there was a significant and positive relationship between multimorbidity and UI (odds ratio = 5.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]=3.89 to 6.59. P<0.001). Conclusion In this large sample of Spanish individuals aged >= 15 years, suffering from multimorbidity was associated with a significantly higher level of UI.