Difference in Incontinence Prevalence Between High Impact Athletes, Low Impact Athletes and Sedentary Subjects.

Difference in Incontinence Prevalence Between High Impact Athletes, Low Impact Athletes and Sedentary Subjects. A Functional Analysis.

This observational cross-sectional study aims to investigate the association between participation in high-impact sports, physical activity level, and urinary incontinence in young adults. The study will compare six groups based on sex and physical activity level: male and female high-impact sports participants, physically active males and females who do not participate in high-impact sports, and sedentary males and females.

Participants aged 18-35 years will undergo a single assessment including sociodemographic and medical information, physical activity assessment, urinary incontinence questionnaires, sport-related characteristics, psychosocial questions regarding the influence of social taboos on questionnaire responses, lower-limb muscle strength testing using a load cell, and vertical jump performance assessment.

The study aims to describe the prevalence, severity, type, and impact of urinary incontinence across different activity levels and sexes, and to explore potential associations with lower-limb strength, jump performance, and sport-related characteristics.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Urinary Incontinence , Stress; Urinary Incontinence (UI)
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort

Detailed Description

Urinary incontinence is a common condition that may affect both women and men and has been associated with physical activity and participation in high-impact sports. Although regular exercise provides substantial health benefits, repetitive increases in intra-abdominal pressure during high-impact activities may contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction in susceptible individuals. Most previous studies have focused on female athletes from specific sports, while evidence including both sexes and different physical activity levels remains limited.

This observational cross-sectional study will compare urinary incontinence characteristics among six population groups defined according to sex and physical activity level: male and female participants in high-impact sports, physically active males and females who do not participate in high-impact sports, and sedentary males and females.

Participants will attend a single face-to-face assessment session after providing written informed consent. During the visit, sociodemographic and clinical information, physical activity characteristics, sport-related variables, urinary incontinence questionnaires, and psychosocial questions related to social taboos and response honesty will be collected. Lower-limb muscle strength will be assessed using a load cell system, and jump performance will be evaluated using the My Jump 2 application.

The primary objective is to compare the prevalence, severity, type, and impact of urinary incontinence across the different study groups. Secondary analyses will explore the relationship between urinary incontinence and physical activity level, lower-limb muscle strength, jump performance, sport-related characteristics, and selected demographic and clinical variables.

Participants will be recruited through social media, institutional dissemination, and sports clubs using voluntary convenience and snowball sampling. All assessments will be performed by trained researchers following standardized procedures.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 270

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Valencia
    • Valencia, Valencia, Spain, 46010
      • Gascó Oliag, 5

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will consist of community-dwelling adults aged 18-35 years recruited from the general population and sports clubs. Participants will include males and females who regularly participate in high-impact sports, physically active individuals who do not participate in high-impact sports, and sedentary individuals. Recruitment will be conducted through social media, institutional advertisements, sports clubs, and snowball sampling. All participants will voluntarily contact the research team and will undergo a single face-to-face assessment after providing written informed consent.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged 18 to 35 years.
• Male or female participants.
• Able to understand and provide written informed consent.
• Belong to one of the following groups:

Regular participation in high-impact sports (≥2 training sessions per week for at least the previous 2 years).

Physically active individuals meeting the World Health Organization recommendations (≥150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity activity, ≥75 minutes/week of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination), without regular participation in high-impact sports.

Sedentary individuals who do not meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnancy or childbirth within the previous 12 months.
• Current or recent urinary tract infection.
• History of urogynecological disease or pelvic/urogynecological surgery.
• Body mass index (BMI) >35 kg/m².
• Inability to understand or complete the study procedures or questionnaires in Spanish or English.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

6

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Male High-Impact Sports Participants; Males aged 18-35 years who regularly participate in high-impact sports (at least twice per week for the previous two years).	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention
Female High-Impact Sports Participants; Females aged 18-35 years who regularly participate in high-impact sports (at least twice per week for the previous two years).	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention
Physically Active Males; Males aged 18-35 years who meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations but do not participate in high-impact sports.	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention
Physically Active Females; Females aged 18-35 years who meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations but do not participate in high-impact sports.	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention
Sedentary Males; Males aged 18-35 years who do not meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations.	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention
Sedentary Females; Females aged 18-35 years who do not meet the World Health Organization physical activity recommendations.	Diagnostic test: No Intervention: Observational Cohort; No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Urinary incontinence severity	Urinary incontinence severity assessed using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity and impact on quality of life. The total score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe urinary incontinence symptoms and greater impact on quality of life.	Baseline (single study visit)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Urinary incontinence-related quality of life	Quality of life associated with urinary incontinence assessed using the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I-QOL). The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better urinary incontinence-related quality of life.	Baseline (single study visit)
Lower-limb muscle strength	Maximum voluntary force and mean voluntary force of hip adduction, abduction, flexion, extension, internal rotation, and external rotation measured using a load cell and ChronoJump software.	Baseline (single study visit)
Vertical jump performance	Vertical jump performance assessed using the My Jump 2 application.	Baseline (single study visit)
Physical activity level	Physical activity level assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Physical activity is expressed as metabolic equivalent (MET)-minutes per week and classified into low, moderate, or high physical activity levels, according to the IPAQ scoring protocol. Higher MET-minutes per week indicate greater levels of physical activity.	Baseline (single study visit)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Valencia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 24, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 13, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 13, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; urinary incontinence; high-impact sports
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Male Urogenital Diseases; Urologic Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urination Disorders; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms; Urological Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Urinary Incontinence; Urinary Incontinence, Stress; Motor Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: Sports_UI

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No