Sexual function and urinary incontinence complaints and other urinary tract symptoms of perimenopausal Turkish women

Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI) and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) which are quite common among women, have a significant level of impact on women's sexual function. Improving sexual function improves the quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between UI complaints with comorbid LUTS and sexual functions in Turkish women. The study is cross-sectional and descriptive. A total of 436 women was included in the study. Data were collected through Personal Information Form, The Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire (BFLUTS) and The Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12). The mean total of BFLUTS score was 31.99 +/- 11.46, while the mean total of PISQ-12 score was 28.72 +/- 6.92 in women. The most common symptoms were identified as storage and incontinence. There was a negative significant correlation between the total PISQ-12 scores and sub-dimension of BFLUTS scores (p < 0.01). Results of the study suggest that sexual function is negatively affected as the severity of symptoms increases.