The incidence of urinary incontinence in Chinese hypertensive women and the relationship between hypertension and urinary incontinence

Objectives: To determine the incidence of UI (urinary incontinence) and its subtypes in hypertensive women and examine the association between hypertension and new-onset UI. Study Design: We conducted a cohort study on women aged ≥20 years in six regions of China. This cohort study was carried out from 2014 to 2016 at baseline, with follow-up completed in 2018. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, physiological and health behaviours were collected. We calculated the standardized person-year incidence of UI in hypertensive women, and used logistic regression to evaluate the association between hypertension and UI and its subtypes. Results: The standardized incidence of UI, stress UI (SUI), urgency UI (UUI), and mixed UI (MUI) in hypertensive women was 32.2, 21.9, 4.1, and 6.1 per 1000 person-years. Compared with normotensive women, the unadjusted and adjusted OR (odd ratio) for UI in hypertensive women was 2.62 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 2.16–3.18) and 1.70 (95 % CI, 1.14–2.53), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for SUI in women with hypertension was 2.44 (95 % CI, 1.92–3.09) and 2.60 (95 % CI, 1.68–4.04), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for UUI in women with hypertension was 2.80 (95 % CI, 1.79–4.37) and 0.54 (95 % CI, 0.13–3.66), respectively; The unadjusted and adjusted OR for MUI in women with hypertension was 2.49 (95 % CI, 1.92–3.09) and 0.60 (95 % CI, 0.19–1.91), respectively. Conclusions: The incidence of UI in hypertensive women was 32.2/1000 person-years. Hypertension was an independent risk factor for new-onset UI and SUI in Chinese adult women.