OBJECTIVES : Urinary Incontinence (UI) can have a devastating effect on women’s quality of life in many spheres. During pregnancy and after delivery, the strength of the pelvic floor may decrease resulting in a high rate of UI. Treatment by means of pelvic floor training is the treatment modality of first choice. Nowadays this can be supported by digital apps. Those have the advantage of giving insights into real world data on UI. The aim of the present study was to analyze the impact of UI on Quality of Life (QoL).

METHODS : We analyzed the data of pelvina® - a digital health companion pelvic floor course. This course examines incontinence symptoms through “The Questionnaire for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis” (QUID) and QoL through SF-6D. Subsequently, the incidence and degree of incontinence in a real world environment was analyzed and the influence of different demographic factors determined. In addition, the impact of UI on the QoL was analyzed in more detail.

RESULTS : 293 patients with a median age of 36 years and a median of 2 deliveries could be included in this study. Patients were slightly to moderate affected by UI with a QUID of 6 (2 - 11, max: 24). Age and parity were independently associated with the incidence of UI with an aOR of 1.06 (95% CI 1.01 – 1.12) and aOR of 1.86 (95% CI 1.12 – 3.08) respectively. The severity of incontinence symptoms showed a strong correlation to the impairment in the QoL (r = 0.489, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS : For the first time, the use of real-world data, as generated by apps such as pelvina®, gives insight into the reality of patients' lives outside classical clinical studies. We find a strong association between parity and UI and the great influence UI has on QoL in daily life.