Lower urinary tract symptoms in female prison inmates: prevalence and impact on quality of life.
INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS
The objective was to estimate the prevalence and assess the impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on the quality of life of incarcerated women.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study conducted with 307 incarcerated women from the state of Ceará, Brazil, from June to September 2018. To identify the prevalence of symptoms, an instrument was developed according to the recommendations of the International Continence Society. To assess the frequency, intensity, and impact of the identified symptoms on quality of life, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form and King's Health Questionnaire were applied.


RESULTS
The profile of the inmates was mostly young women (mean = 32.9 ± 11.8 years), Black, who had been in prison for a mean of 17.3 ± 12.0 months. Approximately half (n = 152, 49.5%) presented with storage complaints, with emphasis on urinary incontinence (n = 61, 19.9%), nocturia (n = 55, 17.9%), and urinary urgency (n = 45, 14.7%). Among the voiding symptoms (n = 71, 23.1%), dysuria (n = 39, 12.7%), and recurrent UTI (n = 44, 14.3%) were the most frequent. The complaint of incomplete bladder emptying (19.5%) was mentioned by 60 of the inmates. Sociodemographic data and environmental conditions were mainly associated with storage symptoms (p = 0.019). Women from prisons 2 and 3 presented with a greater impact on the quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of LUTS in female inmates, together with unhealthy toileting behaviors within the prison units, indicate that incarceration might play a role in the occurrence of these symptoms, while also affecting quality of life. The acknowledgement and investigation of these symptoms is important for improving health care in prisons.
['Ribeiro de Menezes|Purdenciana|P|', 'Teixeira Moreira Vasconcelos|Camila|C|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4578-4657', 'Gomes Lopes|Lia|L|', 'Macena de Almeida|Maria Evilene|ME|', 'Moura Barbosa Castro|Régia Christina|RC|', 'Vasconcelos Neto|José Ananias|JA|']
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D059411:Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms D015995:Prevalence D011329:Prisoners D011330:Prisons D011788:Quality of Life
Lower urinary tract symptoms Prison Prison Prisoners