To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - ECFC: More Than Half Of Women With Cystic Fibrosis Experience Incontinence URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/10764E.htm Doctor's Guide June 14, 1999
By Martin Goldman Special to DG News THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS -- June 14, 1999 -- Urinary incontinence is very common in women with cystic fibrosis between the ages of 15 to 41. The condition is associated with increased age and decreased FEV1 values and is closely related to coughing and sputum production. Stress incontinence, is a common problem for women in mid-life and is often associated with physical exertion such as coughing. It is generally uncommon in healthy young women, but because of the incidence of coughing in patients with cystic fibrosis, Dr. C. Braggion, Cystic Fibrosis Centre, Verona, Italy, and colleagues were interested in finding out whether there might be a higher incidence in these patients. Dr. Braggion presented the results of a prospective study at the 23rd European Cystic Fibrosis Congress in The Hague. In this study, the researchers evaluated 176 adult women with cystic fibrosis over the age of 15 years. Patients were required to respond to a written questionnaire which asked about the frequency and amount of urine loss in the preceding year. Urinary incontinence was defined as either regular, occasional or none. Patients were also asked about whether incontinence was related to stress or urge. In addition the patients were asked whether they had ever sought advice or treatment. The results of the prospective study show that 40.9 percent of the women did not experience incontinence; 34.7 percent experienced incontinence occasionally; 24.4 percent had regular incontinence. The mean age in women with regular incontinence was 26.9 years and in women with no incontinence it was 23.1 years. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean FEV1 between the regular incontinence group (53.5 percent of predicted) versus the no incontinence group (65.5 percent of predicted). There was a significant increase in the prevalence of regular urinary incontinence with age from 16 to 35 percent in patients aged 25 to 44 years compared to women aged between 14 to 24 years. About 40 to 50 percent of women who had regular or severe urinary incontinence sought either advice or treatment. Given the nature of the problem, Dr. Braggion recommended that healthcare workers ask adult cystic fibrosis females about urinary incontinence as part of routine follow-up procedures. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.