Abstract
Urinary Incontinence (UI) is defined as any involuntary urinary loss. The relationship between physical activity and UI is undefined and bidirectional, where UI can cause physical inactivity and vice versa. The aim of this study was to verify and compare the level of physical activity with frequency and severity of urinary incontinence in older women. The study included 19 older women with stress or mixed UI. Data on the frequency and severity of UI were collected through the ICIQ-SF and the level of physical activity through triaxial accelerometer GT3-X brand ActiGrafh, used for seven consecutive days. Descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (Mann-Whitney or way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc) was used. The majority of patients (n = 17; 89.5%) reported losing a small amount of urine. There was no difference between level of habitual physical activity and severity of UI (U = 6.000, p = 0.144). Regarding the frequency of urinary loss, 42.1% (n = 8) reported losing urine two or three times a week, 31.6% (n = 6) once a day or more and 26.3% (n = 5) once a week or less. Patients with more frequent urinary losses had lower levels of physical activity (F = 6.050; p = 0.011). In relation to the effect size, 43.1% of the variability of levels of PA can be explained by the frequency of urinary loss. It was concluded that the frequency of daily urinary loss is related to low levels of physical activity in older women.
Key words:
Accelerometer; Physical activity; Elderly; Urinary incontinence
