Antipsychotics linked to Urinary incontinence among young women: Study

A new study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology showed that urinary incontinence affected 29% of young women on antipsychotics, which is more than twice as many as the prevalence among controls (13%).

Women frequently suffer from urinary incontinence which is known to be influenced by antipsychotic medications. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of precise knowledge about its kinds, prevalence, and effects on this population's quality of life. Therefore, to provide current information, raise awareness, and promote treatment and life quality improvement in these patients, Liron Yosef and  team conducted this study with the goal of evaluating the impact of antipsychotics on the prevalence and types of urinary incontinence as well as the impact on women's quality of life.

This study compared the urine symptoms of 100 women receiving antipsychotic medication to a control group of the same size and age. This research focused on mentally healthy women in their 20s to 40s, before urine incontinence became more common. Medical and ICIQ-SF questionnaires about urinary symptoms and how they affect life quality were filled out by participants.

Urinary incontinence affected 29% of women in the treatment group and 13% of women in the control group (P < 0.005). Of the study and control groups, 24 and 6 percent, respectively, experienced urge incontinence (P < 0.001). The treatment group's SUI was twice as high as the control group's. (p = 0.04).

Nearly, 13% of the study group's participants had mixed incontinence, when compared to 2% in the control group (p = 0.003). In the treatment group, nocturia was more common (15%) than in the control group (P < 0.003). 12% and 2% of the therapy group, respectively, had nocturnal enuresis (P < 0.006). Clozapine was used to treat 5 out of 12 women with nocturnal enuresis (P < 0.001).

According to the ICIQ-SF questionnaire, this study discovered that the symptoms of urine incontinence, particularly nocturnal enuresis, significantly impacted quality of life. Yet, only one-third of these individuals sought treatment for this issue.

Overall, about one-third of young women receiving antipsychotic treatment suffer from urine incontinence, which has a substantial negative influence on their quality of life and is characterized by a high prevalence of urge and mixed urinary incontinence, nocturia, and nocturnal enuresis. 

Reference:

Yosef, L., Amital, D., Nasssar, A., Gemer, O., Kapustian, V., Shilo, M., & Zangen, R. (2025). Antipsychotic treatment influence on urinary incontinence in young women-types, severity and life quality. European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejogrb.2025.03.020