Clinically useful measures in women with mixed urinary incontinence

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to assess: 1) clinically relevant relationships between urinary diary and quality of life, and 2) reproducibility of validated questionnaires and urinary diaries in women with mixed urinary incontinence symptoms (MUI). STUDY DESIGN: Forty-seven women with MUI completed 7-day diaries, the Urinary Distress Inventory (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, and Medical, Epidemiological, and Social Aspects of Aging questionnaire 2 weeks apart. RESULTS: The number of urge incontinence episodes predicted incontinence severity on UDI-6 (R-2 = .38, P < .03). Except for the number of stress incontinence episodes, diary variables and questionnaire responses were reproducible (range from Spearman's rho = .7 to rho = .96, P < .001). CONCLUSION: The 6 questions of the UDI-6 adequately represent incontinence severity. With the exception of the number of stress incontinence episodes recorded on the 7-day diary, common incontinence measures are reproducible over 2 weeks.