Urinary incontinence (UI) is the complaint of any involuntary loss of urine. It is a common but sometimes undiagnosed and misdiagnosed disease that significantly affects a person's quality of life. UI has been identified by the World Health Organization as a major health concern. ^1-2  Both men and women have urinary incontinence (UI), however it is more common in women. The weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and bladder dysfunction are the main causes of incontinence in women.³ The three primary forms of urine incontinence are stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), & mixed urinary incontinence (MUI).⁴ Stress Urinary incontinence is the term used to describe the condition in which people unintentionally leak urine when they cough, sneeze, or exert themselves. Urgency urinary incontinence is the involuntary release of urine from the urethra that happens concurrently with an uncontrollably strong and abrupt need to urinate.⁵ A  comprehensive evaluation is essential for the appropriate  management of women with urine incontinence as well as for determining the effect of this condition on their quality of life.⁶  A study  conducted by Birdeno M et al reported prevalence of UI as 12.4% in younger women , 45% in postmenopausal and middle-aged women , and 75% of older women suffer from some kind of urine incontinence.⁷ The majority of women with urinary  incontinence are psychologically stressed, depressed, socially isolated.⁷ In light of this, the International continence society  suggests including quality of life evaluation into therapeutic procedures. Since credible questionnaires for various disorders have become available in recent decades, many questionnaires have been employed to evaluate the impact of urinary incontinence on quality of life.⁸ In terms of psychology, it frequently results in social isolation, nervousness, hopelessness, low self-esteem, and a fear of leaking during private activities. Additionally, it might impair sleep, limit normal daily tasks, and lower productivity at work.⁹ The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of different types of urinary incontinence in women presenting to the gynecology outpatient department .

A cross-sectional study was carried out at the department of Gynae/Obstt of Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jilani institute of medical sciences from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 after taking formal permission from the ethical committee of the hospital. A formal permission was taken from institutional ethics committee. Sample size was calculated as 170 using WHO sample size calculator. All women aged more than 18 years attending the gynecology OPD for any complaint during the study period were included in the study after taking informed consent. Pregnant women, patients with gynecological malignancies, women with active UTI and women with urinary tract fistulas were excluded from the study. The non-probability consecutive sampling technique was employed for recruitment of study population. A structured proforma covering socio-demographic data, parity and impact of UI on quality of life was used to collect data. Data was entered in MS Excel and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive data like prevalence and types of UI are presented as prevalence and percentage. Chi-Square test was used to find out associations between UI and risk factors (e.g., age, parity, BMI, mode of delivery.

A total of 170 women were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the study population was 44.66 ± 8.36 year. Out of the total participants, 30 (17.65%) had urinary incontinence. The most prevalent urinary incontinence was stress urinary incontinence 17 (56.67%), followed by Mixed urinary incontinence 8 (26.67%) and Urgency urinary incontinence 5 (16.67%) (table 1).  There was no relation between UI and age groups or parity however, there was association between UI and BMI and mode of delivery (p value <0.05) as shown in table 2.  

Urinary incontinence is a prevalent problem that affects middle-aged women as well as those who are pre-menopausal and postmenopausal. It is defined as the complaint of any involuntary leakage of urine. The lives of women may be profoundly affected by severe urine incontinence.10 However, even mild urine incontinence can have a noticeable impact on day-to-day functioning. Urinary incontinence is primarily classified as incontinence due to stress, urge incontinence, & mixed symptoms based on symptoms. Even in the global literature, prevalence estimates for urine incontinence vary greatly. Different definitions of urine incontinence, distinct traits of the population under study, and various data collection techniques—such as postal questionnaires, reporting in-person interviews, or clinical evaluations—have all been blamed for this discrepancy.11 In an analysis of 48 epidemiological studies, prevalence rates range from 12% to 53%. According to a 2016 research, the median prevalence of urine incontinence among females from various non-institutional populations was 27.6%.12,13 Female urinary incontinence development is influenced by specific circumstances. Urinary incontinence has been reported to be influenced either directly or indirectly by age, education, reproductive history, body mass index, chronic medical conditions, and personal and social variables.14 To determine the prevalence and types of urinary incontinence in women presenting to the gynecology department outpatients of a tertiary care hospital the current study was performed. In our study, a total of 170 women were enrolled in this study. The mean age of the study population was 44.66 ± 8.36 year. Similar demographics features were seen in the previous study conducted by Javed et al in Peshawar Pakistan.15 Out of the total participants in our study 17.6% had urinary incontinence. our study findings are similar to the previous study conducted by Murukesu et al 16 in which the prevalence of UI was 16% and Javed et al15 in which the prevalence was 15% but our study findings differ with those of European studies, which showed that the prevalence rate was between 25 to 45 percent.17 Garg et al. found that 21.8% of Indian women affected from UI.18 In our study, out of the total participants, 30 (17.65%) had urinary incontinence. The most prevalent urinary incontinence was stress urinary incontinence 17 (56.67%), followed by Mixed urinary incontinence 8 (26.67%) and Urgency urinary incontinence 5 (16.67%). Rashidi et al.19 and Arg et al18 also find comparable outcomes. A history of gynecological surgery, poor muscle, nerve, and connective tissue injury that occurs during pregnancy and delivery, and lower estrogen levels during menopause are some of the possible risk factors for stress unintended pregnancy in women.19 The urethral hypermobility, obstruction of the et hr al sphincter, and damage to the urethral supporting tissue are all possible outcomes of these numerous causes, and they can all be indicators of stress.20 There was no relation between UI and age groups or parity however, there was association between UI and BMI and mode of delivery in our study (p value <0.05). Similar results were seen in the previous study conducted by Javed et al.15

The present study concluded that the prevalence of urinary incontinence was 17.65% and the most prevalent urinary incontinence was stress followed by Mixed UI and Urgency UI.

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