Queixa de perda urinária: um problema silente pelas mulheres

this study investigates the prevalence of urinary incontinence and how it interferes in the daily life of women from a health center in the city of fortaleza, state of ceará, brazil. this is a cross-sectional, analytical and quantitative study. the studied population was of 168 women who had appointments for hypertension and / or diabetes in september 2009. the data was collected through interviews and the application of the "international consultation on incontinence questionnaire." for inferential analysis, we used chi-square and fisher's exact test. women from the analysis sample (59) were: aged between 42 and 59 years (52.5%), low educational level (55.9%), without a partner (57.6%), retired (50.8%), nonsmokers (81.4%) and overweight (71.2%). only the low educational level was associated with incontinence. prevalence was of 61.0%. for 55,5% of incontinents, losing urine intervenes in a grave or very grave way with their daily life. the urinary loss occurred while coughing or sneezing (72.2%) and before arriving at the bathroom (61.1%). the urinary incontinence presented a high prevalence, intervening negatively with these women's lifes.