Surgery May Benefit Women with Two Types of Urinary Incontinence

Surgery for stress urinary incontinence (leaking that occurs with a cough or sneeze) improves symptoms of another form of incontinence, called urgency urinary incontinence, in women who have both types, says a study supported by NIH.

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Surgery for stress urinary incontinence (leaking that occurs with a cough or sneeze) improves symptoms of another form of incontinence, called urgency urinary incontinence, in women who have both types, according to a study supported by NIH. The findings challenge current treatment guidelines, which suggest that the surgery may worsen urgency urinary incontinence in women with both forms, also called mixed urinary incontinence. The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Funding was provided by NICHD and the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

“Women with mixed urinary incontinence may have more bothersome symptoms than women with either stress or urgency urinary incontinence alone,” said Dr. Donna Mazloomdoost, study author and program director of the NICHD Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. “The findings show promise in treating a condition that can be hard to manage under existing practices.”

Roughly one-third to one-half of all women with urinary incontinence have mixed urinary incontinence. Urgency urinary incontinence results from the spontaneous contraction of bladder muscles, leading to a strong and sudden need to urinate. Stress urinary incontinence occurs when urine leaks out after abdominal pressure increases following a sneeze, cough, laugh or movement, which squeezes the bladder.