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. 2025 Jul 12;43(1):430.
doi: 10.1007/s00345-025-05822-y.

Urinary incontinence severity: the impact on workplace productivity

Marta G Porto  1 , João Marôco  2   3 , Teresa Mascarenhas  4 , Patrícia Vergamota  5 , Inês Queiroz-Garcia  2 , Filipa Pimenta  2
Affiliations

Urinary incontinence severity: the impact on workplace productivity

Marta G Porto et al. World J Urol. .

Abstract

Purpose: Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a highly prevalent yet underreported condition among middle-aged women, with its symptom severity significantly impacting Workplace Productivity (WP). This study aimed to explore the impact of UI symptom severity on the WP of middle-aged women and to investigate the proportion of women who refrain from seeking medical treatment.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1,214 Portuguese women aged 40-65 (Mage=49.97; SDage=6.737), actively employed and self-reporting occasional/frequent urine loss. All data analyses were done with IBM SPSS Statistics and IBM SPSS AMOS. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to analyze associations while adjusting for confounders such as age, education, menopausal status, BMI, and perceived sleep quality.

Results: The predictive model showed an acceptable fit (CFI = 0.921; TLI = 0.850; RMSEA = 0.076; SRMR = 0.049). Higher UI symptom severity significantly predicted greater WP impairment (β = 0.440; p <.001). Age (β= - 0.107; p =.002) and education (β= - 0.061; p =.020) were associated with a lower impact of UI on WP, while poor sleep quality was associated with greater WP impairment (β = 0.121; p =.006). Notably, 60% of participants experiencing had not contacted a doctor regarding their symptoms, and 72.7% had never undergone treatment for UI.

Conclusion: UI symptom severity negatively impacts WP, yet most affected women do not seek treatment. More effective workplace-based online interventions and accessible UI management strategies are essential to mitigating these effects. Future research should also incorporate objective clinical assessments and explore interventions tailored to different UI subtypes.

Keywords: Help-seeking behavior; Occupational productivity; Symptom burden; Urinary symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: The studies involving humans were approved by Ispa – Instituto Universitário Ethics Committee. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
SEM model – predictive model. This SEM model shows UI symptom severity, age, education and perceived sleep quality (king15) as possible predictors of a greater impact on WP. The coefficients presented are standardized linear regression coefficients. Significant trajectories’ values are in bold. Note. UI = Urinary Incontinence, WP = Workplace Productivity, BMI = Body Mass Index
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