Effects of Urinary Incontinence Subtypes on Women's Sexual Function and Quality of Life

Objective: To evaluate the effects of different subtypes of urinary incontinence (UI) on sexual function and quality of life (QoL). Materials and Methods: Ninety-three women with UI were enrolled in the observational study. By the urodynamic findings, 32 women (34.5 %) were diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), 35 (37.6%) with urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), and 26 (27.9%) with mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). The Short Form-36 questionnaire was used to investigate the QoL, and the Female Sexual Function Index and Female Sexual Distress Scale questionnaires were used to study sexual function and sexual distress, respectively. Results: Low mean total Female Sexual Function Index scores and high mean Female Sexual Distress Scale total scores were obtained for each group. However, women with MUI showed a significantly higher impairment of female sexual function (P <.05) compared with others. Women with MUI and UUI had more orgasmic disorder than those with SUI, and women with MUI and SUI had mainly lower sexual desire than those with UUI. QoL was worse in women of all groups, particularly in those with UUI and MUI. Conclusion: UI, whatever its nature, has a significant impact on sexual function; notwithstanding, the subgroups of UI, namely SUI, UUI, and MUI, may have their sexual function affected in different ways. All subtypes of UI can have severe consequences on perception of QoL, but when compared, a significantly high impairment of QoL was observed in the MUI and the UUI groups.