Toileting behavior and urinary tract symptoms among younger women.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Irregular or infrequent voiding due to avoiding school toilets can contribute to a number of urinary problems among school children. There is, however, a lack of studies on younger women. The aim of this study was to investigate toileting behavior and the correlation to lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among young women (age 18-25 years). A further aim was to validate the Swedish version of the Toileting Behavior scale (TB scale).

METHODS: Quantitative descriptive design was used with two questionnaires: the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS) and the TB scale, together with six background questions. The questionnaires were distributed in November 2014 to 550 women aged 18-25 years randomly selected from the population register in southern Sweden.

RESULTS: A total of 173 (33%) women responded. Mean age was 21.6 years (range 18-25). The Swedish version of TB scale showed good construct validity and reliability, similar to the original. Most toileting behavior was significantly correlated with LUTS, which were common, as 34.2% reported urgency and 35.9% urine leakage at least sometimes or more often.

CONCLUSIONS: LUTS were quite common in this group of young women. Toileting behaviors were also significantly related to urinary tract symptoms. Thus, TB scale was useful in this population, and the translated Swedish version showed good construct validity and reliability.