The relationship between sarcopenic obesity and urinary incontinence among adult women in the United States

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between sarcopenic obesity (SO) and urinary incontinence (UI) among adult women in the United States. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on United States adult women aged over 20 years. Data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006, and 2011-2018 cycles. UI diagnosis was collected via self-report questionnaire about kidney conditions. Sarcopenic obesity was defined as appendicular skeletal muscle mass divided by weight less than 23.47 % and percentage of fat mass equal to or greater than 40 %. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI were 39.6 %, 24.4 %, and 15.7 %, respectively. In univariate logistic regression, women with sarcopenic obesity had higher odds of stress UI, urgency UI, and mixed UI compared to the normal group (odds ratio = 2.048, 2.219, and 2.532, P < 0.001). After adjusting for confounders, the odds remained significantly elevated (adjusted odds ratio = 1.485, 1.554, and 1.663, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that sarcopenic obesity was closely associated with an increased odds of UI in United States adult women.