Quality of Life, Psychological Wellbeing, and Sexuality in Women with Urinary Incontinence—Where Are We Now: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a very common condition, negatively affecting social, occupational, domestic, and psychophysical wellbeing. In particular, a peculiar and detrimental effect of UI has been described concerning sexual function. However, the impact of UI on quality of life is not fully understood yet, and further investigation into this issue is warranted. With this narrative review, we aimed to report the current evidence from recent literature regarding the quality of life and psychological wellbeing in patients with urinary incontinence, with a special focus on sexual function and its evolution after UI treatment. There is strong evidence that urinary incontinence—in its different forms, including stress urinary incontinence, urge urinary incontinence, mixed urinary incontinence, and coital urinary incontinence—negatively affects female sexual function. Treatments aimed to cure urinary incontinence—including pelvic floor muscles training, medications, and surgery—seem to improve quality of life by recovering, at least in part, sexual function. In conclusion, there is a substantial association between involuntary urinary loss and sex life quality. However, few studies are available and more evidence is needed before consistent conclusions can be made.