Female urge Incontinence is Associated with Somatosensory Amplification,
Health Anxiety and Depression
Abstract
Purpose: Incontinence is a condition that can cause significant problems
that can affect patients’ quality of social, emotional, psychological
and sexual life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of
anxiety, health anxiety, depression, and somatosensory amplification in
patients with urge incontinence. Materials and Methods: The study group
consisted of 58 patients that met the inclusion criteria. The control
group consisted of 67 volunteer participants that did not have physical
or psychiatric illness and incontinence complaints. All participants
filled out sociodemographic data form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI),
Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS),
and Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI). Results: The mean duration of
incontinence in patients with urge incontinence was 16.55 ± 10.03
months. The mean age in urge incontinence group and the control group
were 40.98 ± 9.58 and 39.1 ± 7.89 years, respectively. The mean values
of SSAS, HAI, and BAI scores in the incontinence group were
significantly higher than the control group (p <0.001), but
there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of BDI
scores. The linear regression analysis indicated that HAI and BAI
significantly affected SSAS (p = 0.025 and 0.019, respectively).
Conclusions: Anxiety, health anxiety and somatosensory amplification are
more common in patients who report urge incontinence. For these reasons,
we believe that psychiatric evaluation should be included in the
diagnosis and treatment process of patients presenting with urgency and
incontinence symptoms. Keywords: Incontinance, Somatosensory
Amplification, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory,
Urgency.