Author(s)

Sanaa M. Taghaddom¹, Florence E. Omu^3*, Fawzeyah S. H. S. AlHarbi², Chitra Vellolikalam³, Samiha I. A. Dwaib², Selma Joseph², Gifta Jeevakumari²

¹Nursing Department, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
²Sabah Al Ahmad Urology Centre, Ministry of Health, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
³College of Nursing, The Public Authority for Applied Education & Training, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The aim of this study was to determine the types of urinary incontinence prevalent among Kuwaiti women with Type two Diabetes Mellitus attending the outpatient clinic at the Urology center and suggest appropriate nursing interventions. Urinary incontinence is not a life threatening condition but it can be emotionally devastating and therefore affects the sufferer’s quality of life. This cross-sectional descriptive survey consisted of 250 Kuwaiti women with type two diabetes mellitus receiving treatment at the outpatient department at Sabah Al-Ahmad Urology Center, Kuwait. The questionnaire comprised of a total of 33 questions, twelve of which explored participants’ socio demographic characteristics, risk factors and symptoms of their urinary incontinence. The remaining 21 items were adapted from King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ) formulated in 1997 at King’s college, London, for the assessment of quality of life in women with urinary incontinence. Data collection was from February to May 2014. The result revealed that mixed urinary incontinence was the most prevalent type of urinary incontinence affecting Kuwaiti women with type two diabetes mellitus. Symptoms of both stress incontinence and urge incontinence (Over active bladder) were not mutually exclusive as they were present in 247 (98.8%) and 240 (96%) of the participants respectively. Key risk factors for developing incontinence were over three years duration of diabetes mellitus in 115 (56%) and delivery of one or more children reported by 206 (82%) of the participants. Analysis and result of King Health Questionnaire on quality of life will be reported in separate paper on the psychosocial impact of urinary incontinence on diabetic Kuwaiti women. In conclusion, urinary incontinence had a devastating effect on the lives of sufferers and therefore should be prevented at all cost by nurses providing anticipatory guidance to all pregnant and diabetic women and routinely teaching pelvic floor exercises to all postnatal women. However, in the event that there are symptoms of urinary incontinence then thorough investigation and early treatment is advocated.

Urinary Bladder Dysfunction, Stress Incontinence, Urge Incontinence, Overactive Bladder, Mixed Incontinence, Type Two Diabetes Mellitus

Taghaddom, S. , E. Omu, F. , H. S. AlHarbi, F. , Vellolikalam, C. , A. Dwaib, S. , Joseph, S. and Jeevakumari, G. (2017) Types of Urinary Incontinence Prevalent among Kuwaiti Women with Type Two Diabetes Mellitus. Open Journal of Nursing, 7, 1131-1143. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2017.710082.