Race and ethnicity do not contribute to differences in preoperative urinary incontinence severity or symptom bother in women who undergo stress incontinence surgery

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether race/ethnicity affects urinary incontinence (UI) severity and bother in women who undergo surgery for stress incontinence. Study Design: We used baseline data from participants in the Stress Incontinence Surgical Treatment Efficacy trial. UI severity was measured by the number of leakage episodes during a 3-day urinary diary and by urodynamic evaluation. UI bother was measured with the Urogenital Distress Inventory. Race/ethnicity classification was based on self-report. Results: Of the 654 women, 72 women (11%) were Hispanic; 480 women (73%) were non-Hispanic white; 44 women (6.7%) were non-Hispanic black, and 58 women (8.9%) were of other race/ethnicity. No differences were seen in any UI severity measures. Non-Hispanic white women had the lowest Urogenital Distress Inventory scores on bivariate analysis, which was explained by socioeconomic status, body mass index, and age on multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Factors other than racial/ethnic differences underlie variations in UI symptoms and bother in this group of women who sought surgery for stress incontinence.