The relationship of abnormal anorectal angle with urinary incontinence in women asymptomatic for fecal incontinence

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore whether alterations in the anorectal angle (ARA) manifest in women without defecation problems but encompassing different types of urinary incontinence. Materials and Methods: Data from prospectively collected database of women with pelvic floor complaints who underwent complete urogynecological and anal examination in a tertiary reference hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Women with anal incontinence and other defecation problems were excluded from analysis. Women with a clinical diagnosis of incontinence were grouped into 3 as: Stress incontinence group, urge incontinence group, and mixed incontinence group. Results: Pairwise comparison yielded that there was no difference in ARA between control, urge urinary incontinence, and stress urinary incontinence group (106.78±14.50, 112.08±11.56, and 113.10±6.80, respectively). However, Bonferroni comparison revealed that ARA in the mixed incontinence group (118.05±11.49) was significantly greater than ARA in the control group. Conclusion: Women with mixed incontinence exhibits markedly elevated ARA values when compared to the continent women. These findings suggest that the co-occurrence of stress and urge incontinence is associated with deviations in anorectal anatomy, even among women who do not display symptoms of defecation problems or fecal incontinence. © 2023, Galenos Publishing House. All rights reserved.