PURPOSE: to evaluate and compare the effects of body mass index (BMI) on the severity of female urinary incontinence (UI) using the quality of life questionnaire King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ), variables of urodynamic studies and the medical history taken. METHODS: cross-sectional clinical study. We selected 65 patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) who were divided into three groups: Group I (BMI: 18-25 kg/m²), Group II (BMI: 25-30 kg/m²) and Group III (BMI>30 kg/m²). The KHQ domains were compared between these groups. In addition, some clinical history urodynamic data (presence of nocturia, enuresis, urgency and urge incontinence) were also related to BMI by calculating the Odds Ratio (OR). The BMI in the presence and absence of non-inhibited detrusor contractions and Valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP) <60 or > 60 cmH2O were evaluated. Finally, the correlation between BMI and the nine KHQ domains has been tested in order to detect some association. RESULTS: the KHQ did not record deterioration of quality of life in women with UI with increasing BMI in any of its areas. The OR for the presence of enuresis in relation to a BMI was 1.003 [CI: 0.897-1.121], p=0.962. The OR for nocturia was 1.049 [CI: 0.933-1.18], p=.425. The OR for urgency was 0.975 [CI: 0.826-1.151], p=0.762, and the OR for incontinence was 0.978 [CI: 0.85-1.126], p=0.76. We studied the BMI in patients with and without non-inhibited detrusor contractions and detected medians of 26.4±4.8 and 28.3±5.7 kg/m², respectively (p=0.6). Similarly, the median BMI values for the groups with VLPP <60 and >60 cmH2O were 29.6±4.1 and 27.7±5.7 kg/m², respectively (p=0.2). Finally, we failed to demonstrate an association between BMI and any of the nine KHQ domains by means of the Spearman correlation. CONCLUSION: there was no association of KHQ scores with BMI. There was also no correlation between the parameters of clinical history and of the urodynamic study with BMI.
Stress urinary incontinence; Body mass index; Obesity; Severity; Quality of life
