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Seventy
percent of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) worry
about coughing, sneezing and laughing in public for fear of
having an accident, according to a new Gallup study.
Although
fifty-five percent of these women have suffered embarrassment
in public at least one time during the past year, 62 percent
of the women surveyed waited a year or more before discussing
their condition with their healthcare provider.
"All
of these behaviors are consistent with what I have seen in
my practice," said Dr. Jill Peters-Gee, director of the
Continence Care Program for Women's Health Connecticut. "Most
women cope with incontinence because they're used to wearing
pads. Women simply don't know that SUI can be treated easily."
SUI is
the involuntary loss of urine from any physical activity that
puts a strain on the bladder and is the most common type of
incontinence, affecting 8 million women in the United States
The survey
of 1,270 women, age 35 and older, was designed to find out
why women don't seek treatment. The survey found that women
who suffer from stress urinary incontinence are not aware
of all of the options for treatment. Sixty-nine percent of
the women were embarrassed by their condition. Ninety one
percent said they changed their behavior to cope with SUI,
including always wearing pads and dark clothing. Thirty-five
percent of the women reported changing their activities to
accommodate their condition including avoiding exercise, traveling
less often and avoiding sex.
"Because
of their greater willingness to cope, women are more reluctant
than men to pursue a diagnosis and seek the most advanced
treatments," Nancy Muller, executive director of the
National Association for Continence. "Urinary incontinence
represents one of the largest healthcare gender gaps where
women place themselves at a disadvantage to men. It's high
time to close this gap through greater public education about
available treatment options."
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of April 14, 2002
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