The effect of bariatric surgery on urinary incontinence

 Takeaway

• This meta-analysis suggests that bariatric surgery is associated with improvement in urinary symptom scores, the cure rate of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and any UI, and reduction in body mass index (BMI).

Why this matters

• This review will help patients and surgeons to counsel overweight and obese women for bariatric surgery as one of the treatment options for urinary incontinence.

Study design

• 23 studies involving 3225 participants met eligibility criteria after a search on MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane library.
• Funding: None disclosed.

Key results

• Bariatric surgery was associated with a significant reduction in BMI (13%, 95% CI, −10.79 to −15.61, I²=94.9%).
• 14% improvement in the incontinence-specific quality of life scores was observed after bariatric surgery (17 studies; weighted mean difference, −14.79; 95% CI, −18.47 to −11.11; I²=87.1%).
• For overall UI, the pooled cure rate in women was 59% (17 studies; 95% CI, 51%-66%; I²=84.93%).
• The pooled cure rate of any stress UI in women was 55% (8 studies; 95% CI, 40%-70%; I² = 89.91%).

Limitations

• Short-term follow-up.
• Heterogeneity among studies.