OBJECTIVES: Describe the characteristics of women seeking treatment for symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and to investigate their association with generic quality of life (QOL). METHODS: Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment Study (SUIT) is a 12-month, observational study in four European countries, evaluating cost-effectiveness of duloxetine compared to other forms of non-surgical intervention in the treatment of symptoms of SUI. Baseline data is presented. A total of 431 physicians observed women seeking treatment for their SUI and recorded the care provided and the outcomes of that care at enrolment, and 3, 6 and 12 months later. The impact of SUI on QOL was assessed using the EuroQol (EQ-5D). Multivariate linear regression was performed on the EQ-5D health state index. RESULTS: A total of 3762 women were enrolled into SUIT; the largest patient group from Germany. The majority were post-menopausal, with a mean age of 58.0 years, were not current smokers and tended to be overweight (mean BMI=27.7), with at least one co-morbidity. Health state index (HSI) scores were significantly (p<0.0001 for all factors except previous surgery, where p=0.049) and independently influenced by, in order of the strength of the association, the total number of incontinence episodes, presence of co-morbidity(ies) affecting QoL, socio-economic status, presence of co-morbidity(ies) affecting incontinence, BMI, urinary incontinence (UI) subtype and previous surgery. Each additional incontinence episode was associated with a decrease in HSI score of 0.002 points, each comorbidity affecting QoL was associated with a HSI score reduction of 0.072 points and each comorbidity directly affecting incontinence was associated with a reduction of 0.040 points. Mixed Urinary Incontinence had a greater negative influence on HSI score than pure SUI. CONCLUSION: This analysis describes the characteristics of patients at the enrolment visit, and demonstrates that the number of incontinence episodes has the greatest impact on the EQ-5D Health State Scores.