Age- and type-dependent effects of parity on urinary incontinence: the Norwegian EPINCONT study☆
Section snippets
Materials and methods
The study was part of the Norwegian EPINCONT study (EPidemiology of INCOntinence in the county of Nord-Trøndelag), which is presented in detail elsewhere.1 The EPINCONT study is again part of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey 2 (HUNT 2), a large survey performed in one county in Norway during the years 1995–97. Everyone aged 20 years or more (n = 94,197) residing in the county were invited to participate. The complete HUNT 2 survey covered many topics, for example, mental health, cardiovascular
Results
Table 1 shows the prevalence and number of incontinent women, according to age groups and parity. Urinary incontinence was associated with both age and parity. Notably, prevalence among nulliparous women was high, ranging from 8% to 32% according to age. For age groups over 65 years, parity had no influence on prevalence. In age groups affected by parity, the first delivery had a higher impact than each of the next. The prevalences increased by between 6% (in age group 35–44 years) and 14% (in
Discussion
This study demonstrates a strong and significant association between parity and urinary incontinence with RRs ranging from 1.6 for primiparous women to 2.3 for grand multiparous women. The findings support deliveries as an important risk factor for incontinence. However, the prevalence of incontinence among nulliparous women also was rather high, indicating that other risk factors have substantial influence. The effects of parity were clearly related to age and type of incontinence. Women in
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The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (the HUNT Study) is a collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Verdal, the National Institute of Public Health, the National Health Screening Service of Norway, and the Nord-Trøndelag County Council. The EPINCONT Study was also supported by the Research Council of Norway. The authors have no commercial affiliations relevant to this study.