Urinary incontinence, UTI and its associated health problems among female athletes- an interventional approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20252476Keywords:
Urinary tract infections, Urinary incontinence, Lower urinary tract dysfunction, Intervention programme, Female athletesAbstract
Background: Research over recent decades has shown that lower urinary tract dysfunction such as urinary incontinence (UI) and UTI is common among physically active women, including those in high-impact sports. It is essential to study the rate of prevalence and risk factors in order to prevent and treat the problem among female athletes.
Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence of UI, UTI, and the effect of an intervention on 138 female athletes aged 17-23 using a self developed questionnaire and follow-up intervention program.
Results: UI was reported by 29%, UTI by 48.6%, and both by 35%. Intervention significantly improved awareness and practices.
Conclusions: Increased awareness and education can help female athletes overcome UI/UTI-related limitations in performance and quality of life.
Metrics
References
Bo K, Frawley HC. Urinary incontinence in female athletes. Sports Med. 2016;46(1):141-53.
De Mattos Lourenço TR, Matsuoka PK, Baracat EC, Haddad JM. Urinary incontinence in female athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Int Urogynecol J. 2018;29(12):1757-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-018-3629-z
Pires T, Pires P, Moreira H, Viana R. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in high-impact sport athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Hum Kinet. 2020 Jul 21;73:279.
Rebullido TR, Gómez-Tomás C, Faigenbaum AD, Chulvi-Medrano I. The Prevalence of urinary incontinence among adolescent female athletes: a systematic review. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2021;6(1):12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk6010012
Fontana TL, Seligman B, Silva LG. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in female athletes: an observational study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(11):5591. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115591
Silva A, Santos PC. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in high-impact sport athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2020;15(4):502-12.
Singh RK, Bijoylakshmi D. Prevalence of antibiotic sensitivity pattern of uropathogens in patients of different age-groups from western region of Nepal. Int J Med Res Health Sci. 2016;5(9):1-7.
Flores-Mireles AL, Walker JN, Caparon M, Hultgren SJ. Urinary tract infections: epidemiology, mechanisms of infection and treatment option. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2015;13(5):269-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3432
Vasaghi-Gharamaleki B, Ostad-Rahimi S. Preliminary study on prevalence of urinary incontinence in Iranian female athletes. Int J Sports Exerc Med. 2015;1:028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23937/2469-5718/1510028
Marnys. Cystitis and sport, how urinary tract infections are affected by physical exercise. 2022. Available from: https://www.marnys.com/en/ magazine/cystitis-and-sport-how-urinary-tract-infections-are-affected-by-physical-exercise/. Accessed on 11 February 2025.
Teixeira RV, Colla C, Sbruzzi G, Mallmann A, Paiva LL. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in female athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Int Urogynecol J. 2018;29:1717-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-018-3651-1
Pires T, Pires P, Moreira H, Viana R. Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in High-Impact Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Hum Kinet. 2020;73:279-88. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0008
Hagovska M, Švihra J, Buková A, Hrobacz A, Dračková D, Švihrová V, et al. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in females performing high-impact exercises. Int J Sports Med. 2017;38:210-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-123045
Hertig-Godeschalk A, Perret C, Krebs J, Ammann F. Urinary tract infections are common and have an impact on performance in elite wheelchair athletes: a cross-sectional study of self-reported data. Swiss Med Wkly. 2025;155(4):4113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.57187/s.4113
Bennis S, Joyce C, Mueller ER, Fitzgerald CM. Individual factors in young female athletes’ bladder health (the Y-FAB Study). Urogynecology. 2025;31(2):91-100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/SPV.0000000000001576
Srivastava S. Analytical study of UTI in adolescent girls. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2018;7(4):1385-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20181024
Ahmadi Z, Shamsi M, Roozbahani N, Moradzadeh R. The effect of educational intervention program on promoting preventive behaviors of urinary tract infection in girls: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatr. 2020;20(1):79. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-020-1981-x
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
