Differences in urinary incontinence between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White women in a population-based study.

METHODS

The prevalence of moderate to severe UI, defined as Sandvik severity score of >or=3, was assessed in relation to ethnicity by stratification, age adjustment and logistic regression models among 250 Hispanic and 491 non-Hispanic White women in Colorado, USA, who were participants in a breast cancer case-control study.

RESULTS

Hispanic women reported more stress UI (odds ratio 1.7, P = 0.005) and mixed UI (odds ratio 1.8, P = 0.005) than did non-Hispanic White women. These higher prevalences were largely associated with ethnic differences in parity, body mass index, diabetes, hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of moderate to severe UI in Colorado is higher among Hispanic women than among non-Hispanic white women. This difference is largely compatible with differences in reproductive history, adiposity and diabetes.