Table 1.

Demographic, Lifestyle, and Clinical Characteristics of Women by Frequency of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Degree of Life Impact from Urinary Symptoms, Pain or Discomfort in the Pelvic or Bladder Area; Boston Area Community Health Survey, 2008–2010

	All participants (N = 2527)	Frequency of LUTSa			Degree of life impactb
		None (N = 528)	Ever (N = 1999)	p	None (N = 1841)	Any (N = 686)	p
Age, years, %
26–44	32.5	42.9	30.0		34.0	27.7
45–64	42.1	42.4	42.1	<0.001	41.3	44.6	0.217
≥65	25.4	14.7	28.0		24.7	27.7
Race, %
Black	28.8	34.6	27.5		29.1	27.9
Hispanic	12.2	14.2	11.8	0.032	11.3	15.1	0.230
White	58.9	51.2	60.8		59.5	57.0
Menopausal status, %
Premenopausal/Undetermined	28.2	35.7	26.4		30.2	21.7
Perimenopausal	17.5	19.6	17.0	0.004	18.0	15.7	0.003
Postmenopausal	32.2	31.6	32.3		32.1	32.4
Surgical	22.2	13.1	24.3		19.6	30.2
Parity, %c
0 pregnancies	19.3	21.8	18.6		20.6	15.1
1–3 pregnancies	46.3	48.8	45.7	0.260	46.3	46.4	0.126
≥4 pregnancies	34.3	29.0	35.6		33.0	38.6
Cigarette smoking status, %
Never smoker	47.4	54.2	45.8		50.3	38.3
Former smoker	31.6	23.4	33.5	0.064	29.9	36.9	0.008
Current smoker	18.5	19.5	18.3		17.4	22.0
Alcohol use, average drinks/day, %c
<1 drink	39.6	42.7	38.8		37.3	46.6
1–2 drinks	45.2	40.8	46.3	0.450	47.8	36.9	0.019
≥3 drinks	11.2	12.3	10.9		11.3	10.9
Body mass index, kg/m2, %c
<25	27.5	29.5	27.0		31.2	15.6
25–29	30.7	33.6	30.0	0.559	31.1	29.2	<0.001
≥30	41.1	35.6	42.4		36.9	54.3
Waist circumference, cm, %c
<65	2.3	1.7	2.4		2.7	1.1
65–89	51.8	54.1	51.3	0.427	55.2	41.1	<0.001
90–114	36.3	37.6	36.0		34.9	41.0
≥115	9.2	6.6	9.8		7.0	16.0
Health-related limitations in activities, %d
Not limited at all	52.2	72.3	47.4		59.9	27.9
Limited a little	28.9	19.6	31.1	<0.001	26.7	35.7	<0.001
Limited a lot	18.9	8.1	21.5		13.3	36.5
Self-reported physician diagnosis of, %
High blood pressure	37.1	25.8	39.7	<0.001	34.5	45.3	0.002
Type I diabetes	4.1	3.1	4.3	0.333	2.5	8.9	<0.001
Type II diabetes	10.8	6.7	11.8	0.001	8.9	17.0	<0.001
Cardiovascular diseasee	27.1	19.8	28.8	0.006	24.9	34.1	0.004
Arthritis or rheumatism	41.5	24.8	45.5	<0.001	37.6	54.1	<0.001
Depressive symptoms, %f	17.0	7.4	19.3	<0.001	12.4	31.8	<0.001

All values were weighted according to the sampling weights of the Boston Area Community Health Survey.

^aIncludes 15 LUTS in the past month (urinating again after <2 hours; perceived frequency; nocturia; stress incontinence [in the past week]; urgency incontinence [in the past week]; nonstress, nonurgency incontinence [in the past week]; any incontinence [in the past year]; dribbling/wet clothes after urination; urgency/difficulty postponing urination; pain, burning, discomfort in the pubic/bladder area; straining/difficult to begin voiding; weak stream; intermittency; incomplete emptying; and urinary tract infection [in the past year]). “None” was defined as no LUTS in the past month and “ever” was defined as any LUTS experienced at least rarely in the past month.

^bAssessed by a modified version of the IIQ. “None” was defined as no impact with any of the seven activities/aspects of life assessed and “any” was defined as at least slight impact with any activity/aspect of life.

^cNumbers may not sum to 100% because of missing values.

^dExamples for participants included moving a table, pushing a vacuum cleaner, softball, or playing golf.

^eIncludes coronary artery bypass, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, transient ischemic attack, stroke, carotid artery surgery, intermittent claudication, pulmonary embolus, aortic aneurysm, heart rhythm disturbance, Raynaud's disease, and peripheral vascular disease.

^fDefined as an affirmative response to at least five of eight items on a revised version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression Scale.¹⁵

IIQ, Incontinence Impact Questionnaire; LUTS, lower urinary tract symptom.