Prevalence, impact and specialised treatment of urinary incontinence in women with chronic lung disease

Abstract

Objectives: To determine in women with clinically stable chronic lung disease (CLD) and healthy women; (1) prevalence of urinary incontinence; (2) risk factors for urinary incontinence; (3) effects of a standard course of specialised physiotherapy treatment (PT) in women with CLD. Design: Prospective prevalence study; PT study in CLD subgroup. Setting: Tertiary metropolitan public hospital. Participants: Women with cystic fibrosis (CF, n = 38), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, n = 27) and 69 healthy women without CLD. PT study — 10 women with CLD. Interventions: Five continence PT sessions over 3 months. Main outcome measures: Prevalence and impact of incontinence (questionnaire)..