Analysis of pelvic floor electrical physiological parameters in nulliparous women with stress urinary incontinence

Xiaoxia Chang; Huan Ge; Guihua Ye; Xiaojie Quan; Wei Shen; Chunzi Zhang; Mengyao Huan; Jie Wu

doi:10.21037/tau-20-1235

Analysis of pelvic floor electrical physiological parameters in nulliparous women with stress urinary incontinence

Transl Androl Urol. 2021 Apr;10(4):1620-1626. doi: 10.21037/tau-20-1235.

Authors

Xiaoxia Chang¹, Huan Ge¹, Guihua Ye¹, Xiaojie Quan¹, Wei Shen¹, Chunzi Zhang¹, Mengyao Huan¹, Jie Wu¹

Affiliation

¹ The State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Rehabilitation Medical Center, Jiangsu Province People's Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210036, China.

Abstract

Background: To investigate the changes in pelvic floor electrical physiological parameters in nulliparous women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Methods: A retrospective survey was conducted on 922 women aged 20-40 years who received health examinations at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between July 2017 and December 2019. The women were split into two groups: those who had SUI (n=87) and those that did not (n=835). Questionnaires and pelvic floor electrical physiological indexes were collected.

Results: The mean age of the group of women with SUI was 29.77 years, while the mean age of the group of women with no SUI was 24.49 years. The body mass indexes (BMI) of the women with SUI were significantly higher than those of the women with no SUI. Importantly, the normal rates of type I and II fibers in the women with SUI were obviously lower than those in the women with no SUI. Moreover, the vaginal dynamic pressure in the women with SUI was significantly lower than in the women with no SUI. The study also found that the incidence of SUI in nulliparous women was higher in those aged 30-40 and that both low-weight and obese women had an increased risk of SUI. Type I and type II muscle fibers were more abnormal in the women with SUI than in those with no SUI. In multivariate logistic regression, the ages, BMIs, and type I fiber indexes of nulliparous women were related to SUI.

Conclusions: Nulliparous women have a higher rate of SUI. Compared to women with no SUI, the possible potential risk factors are age (>30 years), higher BMI, and abnormal type I muscle fiber of the pelvic floor.

Keywords: Stress urinary incontinence; clinical study; nulliparous women; pelvic floor electrical physiological parameters.