Abdominal obesity as assessed by anthropometric measures associates with urinary incontinence in females: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2018

Abstract Background Urinary incontinence (UI) is significantly link to abdominal obesity. This study aimed to assess the association between anthropometric indices of abdominal obesity, including body roundness index (BRI), conicity index (CI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and UI risk in adult females. Methods We analyzed data from 10, 317 adult females in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database (2005–2018). Weighted multivariable-adjusted regression analysis was conducted to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between BRI, CI, WHtR, and UI. Stratified analyses revealed the association based on the population type. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were used to assess the predictive value of UI. Results All indices of abdominal obesity investigated were positively and independently associated with the prevalence and severity of three types of UI. After adjusting for all relevant confounding variables, a significantly positive association between BRI and the prevalence of UI were observed (OR quartile 4 vs. quartile 1: urge UI (UUI): 1.93, 95% CI 1.61–2.30; stress UI (SUI): 2.29, 95% CI 1.94–2.70; mixed UI (MUI): 2.26, 95% CI 1.82–2.82; all P