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Diet as a risk factor for the development of stress urinary incontinence: a longitudinal study in women

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 58, pages 920–926 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between diet and the onset of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women aged 40 y plus.

Design and setting: The Leicestershire MRC Incontinence Study — a prospective longitudinal study of the prevalence, incidence and aetiology of urinary symptoms.

Subjects and methods: A total of 5816 women aged 40 y plus and living in the community. Urinary symptoms were reported in a postal questionnaire at baseline and at 1-y follow-up. Dietary intake was assessed in a food frequency questionnaire at baseline.

Results: Intakes of total fat, saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids were associated with an increased risk of SUI onset 1 y later. Of the micronutrients studied, zinc and vitamin B12 were positively associated with SUI onset.

Conclusion: The results from this prospective study suggest there may be an aetiological association between certain components of the diet and the onset of SUI. The findings need confirming and possible mechanisms to explain these associations need further investigation.

Sponsorship: The study was funded by the Medical Research Council.

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Acknowledgements

The work was funded by the Medical Research Council. We thank all members of the study team for their contributions, Ailsa Welch (The Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge) for advice with collecting and processing the FFQ data and the MRC Steering Committee. We also thank the general practitioners of Leicestershire and Rutland, who gave their support to the study and the members of the public who participated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, UK

    H Dallosso, R Matthews, C McGrother & M Donaldson

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  1. H Dallosso
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  2. R Matthews
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  3. C McGrother
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  4. M Donaldson
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The Leicestershire MRC Incontinence Study Group

Contributions

Guarantor: H Dallosso.

Contributors: CM was the lead investigator on the project, and with HD was responsible for the design of the study. HD overlooked the collection of the data by the Leicestershire MRC Incontinence Study team and was the lead writer on the paper. RM conducted the data analysis and contributed to the writing of the paper. All authors were involved in interpreting the results and critical revision of the paper.

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Correspondence to H Dallosso.

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Dallosso, H., Matthews, R., McGrother, C. et al. Diet as a risk factor for the development of stress urinary incontinence: a longitudinal study in women. Eur J Clin Nutr 58, 920–926 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601913

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