Table 3.
Comparative studies assessing urinary incontinence (UI) among female CrossFit practitioners (CFG) and control participants (CG)
| Reference, country and sample | Variables (tools) | Participants with UI, severity and type | Factors associated with UI | Comparative results CFG-CG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elks et al. [22], USA | ||||
| 423 women (mean age; range): | Prevalence: | Women with UI (n): | Multiparity | Prevalence (proportion of each group; p value): |
| CFG: n = 322 (38; 30–45 years) | UDI-6 | CFG: 256 | Vaginal delivery | UI: CFG 84% vs CG 48%; p < 0.001 |
| CG: n = 101 (31; 26.5–39.5 years) | POPDI-6 | Severity (n): | Postmenopausal status | Severity (proportion of each group; p value): |
| Parity (n): | Severity: | Slight: 133 | Body mass index | Slight: CFG 44% vs CG 34%; p < 0.001 |
| CFG: 3 | ISI | Moderate: 116 | Pelvic surgery | Moderate: CFG 38% vs CG 14%; p < 0.001 |
| CG: 3 | Type: | Severe: 7 | CF exercises (n; proportion of CFG): | Severe: CFG 2% vs CG 0%; p < 0.001 |
| CF experience: NR | Specific items | Type (n): | Jump rope DU: 166; 65% | Type (proportion of each group; p value): |
| Competitive status: NR | SUI: 186 | SUI: CFG 73% vs CG 47%; p < 0.001 | ||
| UUI: 140 | UUI: CFG 55% vs CG 42%; p = 0.02 | |||
| MUI: 128 | MUI: CFG 50% vs CG 31%; p < 0.001 | |||
| Forner et al. [23], Australia | ||||
| 1,379 women (mean age ± SD): | Prevalence: | Women with UI: NR | Parity | Prevalence (proportion of each group): |
| CFG: n = 858 (38.5 ± 8.8 years) | UDI-6 | Severity: NR | UI: CFG 50.4 % vs CG 51.6 % | |
| CG: n = 521 (38.4 ± 9.2 years) | CRADI-8 | Type (n): | Severity: NR | |
| Parity (n): | POPDI-6 | SUI: 355 | Type (proportion of each group; p value): | |
| CFG: 433 | Severity: NR | UUI: 208 | SUI: | |
| CG: 295 | Type: | MUI: 410 | Parous: CFG 51.5% vs CG 8.1%; p = 0.362 | |
| CF experience: NR | UDI-6 | Nulliparous: CFG 30% vs CG 23.9 %; p = 0.098 | ||
| Competitive status: NR | UUI: | |||
| Parous: CFG 29% vs CG 36.3%; p = 0.037 | ||||
| Nulliparous: CFG 19% vs CG 21.7%; p = 0.413 | ||||
| MUI: | ||||
| Parous: CFG 57.3% vs CG 57.3%; p = 0.997 | ||||
| Nulliparous: CFG 37.2% vs CG 34.5%; p = 0.502 | ||||
| Khowailed et al. [27], USA | ||||
| 14 women (mean age; range) | Prevalence: | Women with UI (n): | Parity | Prevalence (proportion of each group; p value): |
| CFG: n = 9 (29; 18–40 years) | Carls’ UI survey | CFG: 6 | CF exercises (n; proportion of CFG): | CFG > CG; p = 0.023 |
| CG: n = 5 (29; 18–40 years) | Severity: NR | CG: 2 | Jumps: 7; 77.8% | Severity: NR |
| Parity (n): 4 | Type: NR | Severity: NR | Running: 6; 66.7% | Type: NR |
| CF experience: NR | Type: NR | Lifting: 3; 33.3% | ||
| Competitive status: NR | ||||
| De Machado et al. [26], Brazil | ||||
| 41 women (mean age ± SD) | Prevalence: | Women with UI (n): | CF exercises (n): | Prevalence (proportion of each group; p value): |
| CFG: n = 20 (27.4 ± 3.7 years) | ICIQ-SF | CFG: 12 | Jumps: NR | UI: CFG 60% vs CG 9.5%; p < 0.001 |
| CG: n = 21 (25.8 ± 3.4 years) | Severity: | Severity (n): | Lifting: NR | Severity (proportion of each group): |
| Parity (n): 0 | ICIQ-SF | Mild: 2 | Mild: CFG 9.5% vs CG 0% | |
| CF experience (mean; range): | Type: NR | Moderate: 10 | Moderate: CFG 50% vs CG 9.5% | |
| 22; 6–60 months | Severe: 0 | Severe: 0 | ||
| Competitive status (n): | Very severe: 0 | Very severe: 0 | ||
| CFG = 12 | Type: NR | Type: NR | ||
| Middlekauff et al.[25],, USA | ||||
| 70 women (mean age ± SD) | Prevalence: | Women with UI (n): | No statistically significant associations were found | Prevalence (proportion of each group): |
| CFG: n = 35 (26.8 ± 3.8 years) | EPIQ and POP-Q | CFG: 9 | UI: CFG 27.7% vs CG 8.5% | |
| CG: n = 35 (22.7 ± 3.9 years) | Severity: NR | Severity: NR | Severity: NR | |
| Parity (n): 0 | Type: NR | Type: NR | Type: NR | |
| CF experience (mean ± SD): | ||||
| 22.1 ± 12.3 months | ||||
| Competitive status: NR | ||||
| Yang et al. [24], USA | ||||
| 149 women (mean age): | Prevalence: | Women with UI (n): | Parity | Prevalence (proportion of each group): |
| CFG: n = 105 (36.9 years) | ISSI | CFG: 53 | Vaginal delivery | UI: CFG 55.6% vs CG 31.8% |
| CG: n = 44 (29.0 years) | Severity: | Severity (n): | CF exercises (n; proportion of CFG): | Severity: NR |
| Parity (n): | ISSI | Mild: 34 | Jump rope DU: 50; 94.3% | Type: NR |
| CFG: 67 | Type: NR | Moderate to severe: 19 | Jump rope SU: 43; 81.1% | |
| CF experience: NR | Type: NR | Box jump: 30; 56.6% | ||
| Competitive status: NR | ||||
Abbreviations: CF CrossFit, CRADI-8 Colorectal–Anal Distress Inventory-8, DU double unders, EPIQ Epidemiology of Prolapse and Incontinence Questionnaire, ISI Incontinence Severity Index, ISSI Incontinence Symptom Severity Index, MUI mixed urinary incontinence, NR not reported, POPDI-6 Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory-6, POP-Q Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantifications System, SU single unders, SUI stress urinary incontinence, UDI-6 Urinary Distress Inventory-6, UUI urgency urinary incontinence