Urinary incontinence and disordered eating in female elite athletes

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the association between urinary incontinence and disordered eating, in elite female athletes. Design This cross-sectional study included 744 young and healthy Portuguese women: 372 elite athletes and 372 age-matched non-athletes, mean age 21 ± 5.3 years. Methods Data regarding clinical, demographic, and sport practice characteristics were collected by questionnaire. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence-Short Form was applied to identify urinary incontinence. The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire was applied to identify disordered eating. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to estimate the association between UI and disordered eating. Results The prevalence of urinary incontinence in athletes and non-athletes was 29.3% and 13.4%, p  Conclusions Athletes with disordered eating were three times more likely to present urinary incontinence than women without disordered eating. There is a need for further studies to elaborate on mechanisms for this association.