Theories of urinary incontinence causation: aetiological descriptions by sub-Saharan African women

Abstract Objective To describe the perceived causes of urinary incontinence (UI) and factors associated with awareness of causes of UI among women in the community. Study design Secondary analysis of data extracted from the Ibadan Urinary Incontinence Household Survey (IUIHS), a multi-stage community survey conducted among 5001 women in Nigeria. Results The mean age was 34.8 years (SD = 14.2). The majority had at least secondary education and were currently married. Within this population, 13% had ever leaked urine. On their perception of possible aetiological factors of UI, 20.5% mentioned pelvic floor or bladder-related causes such as stress incontinence triggers and bladder problems; 14.6% mentioned uncontrollable factors such as medical comorbidity, age and prior surgery; 8.8% attributed the cause to being female; and 6.8% mentioned sex-related factors. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed significantly lower odds of awareness of the aetiology of urinary incontinence among women aged less than 30 years, those with lower level of education, rural women, those with five or more children and women without history of urine leakage. Conclusions The study shows a low level of awareness of possible cause of UI amongst women surveyed. We recommend health education and mobilization of women on the right aetiological factors of UI.