The Particulars: Few studies have assessed changes in the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) following bariatric surgery among obese women and men.
Data Breakdown: For a study, nearly 2,000 severely obese patients completed a UI questionnaire before and after bariatric surgery. They also filled out a questionnaire during at least one follow-up assessment over a 3-year period. The prevalence of total, stress, and urgency UI for women and the prevalence of total and urgency UI for men decreased at each follow-up visit. At 1 year follow-up, the UI remission rates were about 70% for both men and women. The frequency of UI episodes of any type decreased after surgery for all patients, although there was a slight increase seen in women after year 1.
Take Home Pearl: Severely obese men and women who undergo bariatric surgery appear to experience a substantial improvement in UI prevalence and UI episodic frequency after their procedure.
