Urinary Incontinence , Stress, Urinary Incontinence (UI)
Conditions
Keywords
urinary incontinence, physical activity, high-impact sports
Brief summary
This observational cross-sectional study aims to investigate the association between participation in high-impact sports, physical activity level, and urinary incontinence in young adults. The study will compare six groups based on sex and physical activity level: male and female high-impact sports participants, physically active males and females who do not participate in high-impact sports, and sedentary males and females. Participants aged 18-35 years will undergo a single assessment including sociodemographic and medical information, physical activity assessment, urinary incontinence questionnaires, sport-related characteristics, psychosocial questions regarding the influence of social taboos on questionnaire responses, lower-limb muscle strength testing using a load cell, and vertical jump performance assessment. The study aims to describe the prevalence, severity, type, and impact of urinary incontinence across different activity levels and sexes, and to explore potential associations with lower-limb strength, jump performance, and sport-related characteristics.
Detailed description
Urinary incontinence is a common condition that may affect both women and men and has been associated with physical activity and participation in high-impact sports. Although regular exercise provides substantial health benefits, repetitive increases in intra-abdominal pressure during high-impact activities may contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction in susceptible individuals. Most previous studies have focused on female athletes from specific sports, while evidence including both sexes and different physical activity levels remains limited. This observational cross-sectional study will compare urinary incontinence characteristics among six population groups defined according to sex and physical activity level: male and female participants in high-impact sports, physically active males and females who do not participate in high-impact sports, and sedentary males and females. Participants will attend a single face-to-face assessment session after providing written informed consent. During the visit, sociodemographic and clinical information, physical activity characteristics, sport-related variables, urinary incontinence questionnaires, and psychosocial questions related to social taboos and response honesty will be collected. Lower-limb muscle strength will be assessed using a load cell system, and jump performance will be evaluated using the My Jump 2 application. The primary objective is to compare the prevalence, severity, type, and impact of urinary incontinence across the different study groups. Secondary analyses will explore the relationship between urinary incontinence and physical activity level, lower-limb muscle strength, jump performance, sport-related characteristics, and selected demographic and clinical variables. Participants will be recruited through social media, institutional dissemination, and sports clubs using voluntary convenience and snowball sampling. All assessments will be performed by trained researchers following standardized procedures.
Interventions
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTNo Intervention: Observational Cohort
No intervention
Sponsors
University of Valencia
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adults aged 18 to 35 years. * Male or female participants. * Able to understand and provide written informed consent. * Belong to one of the following groups: Regular participation in high-impact sports (≥2 training sessions per week for at least the previous 2 years). Physically active individuals meeting the World Health Organization recommendations (≥150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity activity, ≥75 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination), without regular participation in high-impact sports. Sedentary individuals who do not meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations.
Exclusion criteria
* Pregnancy or childbirth within the previous 12 months. * Current or recent urinary tract infection. * History of urogynecological disease or pelvic/urogynecological surgery. * Body mass index (BMI) \>35 kg/m². * Inability to understand or complete the study procedures or questionnaires in Spanish or English.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Urinary incontinence severity | Baseline (single study visit) | Urinary incontinence severity assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity and impact on quality of life. The total score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe urinary incontinence symptoms and greater impact on quality of life. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Urinary incontinence-related quality of life | Baseline (single study visit) | Quality of life associated with urinary incontinence assessed using the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I-QOL). The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better urinary incontinence-related quality of life. |
| Lower-limb muscle strength | Baseline (single study visit) | Maximum voluntary force and mean voluntary force of hip adduction, abduction, flexion, extension, internal rotation, and external rotation measured using a load cell and ChronoJump software. |
| Vertical jump performance | Baseline (single study visit) | Vertical jump performance assessed using the My Jump 2 application. |
| Physical activity level | Baseline (single study visit) | Physical activity level assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Physical activity is expressed as metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes per week and classified into low, moderate, or high physical activity levels, according to the IPAQ scoring protocol. Higher MET-minutes per week indicate greater levels of physical activity. |
Countries
Spain
Outcome results
None listed