Assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms during pregnancy: an observational cross-sectional study from Palestine

BackgroundWomen frequently complain of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during pregnancy due to multiple physiological and potentially pathological changes. Still, there is limited data on the characteristics of LUTS for pregnant women in Palestine. Therefore, this study was designed to assess LUTS among pregnant women in Palestine, in addition to identifying factors that exacerbate LUTS during pregnancy.MethodsWe devised a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study that used the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI) and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) tools to assess LUTS during pregnancy in an antenatal care clinic setting. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to determine variables that significantly related to LUTS (UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores as dependent variables).ResultsThe study recruited 306 pregnant women. Regarding LUTS findings, the participants scored a mean of 31.924.9 out of 100 points (6.7 +/- 5.2 out of 21) for the IIQ-7 scale and a mean of 31.2 +/- 19.2 out of 100 points (5.6 +/- 3.4 out of 18) for the UDI-6 scale. Regression analysis showed that older women (p=0.031), women with a higher body mass index (p