Urinary incontinence among young women

Urinary incontinence, contrary to common opinion, also concerns young women. The purpose of the undertaken research was the assessment of continence in women aged 18-40. The tests were carried out in the Urodynamics Studio in the Gynaecological-Obstetric Clinical Hospital in Poznań in 2006. The research tool was a questionnaire form, and the answers to the questions included in the que- stionnaire form were given by patients before urodynamic diagnostics. 239 patients were put through a urodynamic examination. 30 women qualified for the statistical analysis. On the basis of the urodynamic examination, in 12 (40%) patients there was diagnosed a mixed form of urinary incontinence, in 7 persons it was incontinence as a result of overfilling, and in 4 (13.3%) patients it was pressing incontinence. The majority of those examined constituted women whose problems with urinary incontinence had been present for a long time: 1-5 years (50%), or above 8 years (26.6%). The complaints of the majority of respondents (53.3%) intensify with the passage of time. The cir- cumstances connected with the rise of intra-abdominal pressure, such as cough, laughter or sneezing, in the majority (80%) of examined women cause urine leakage. Nycturia appears in 20 (66.7%) sick persons. Among this group of patients, the majority (70%) must go to the toilet several times at night. The bladder and urethra complaints limit the life activity of examined patients and they disturb them very much. It is necessary to educate young women how to early detect and cure urinary incontinence in this age group.