Aims
To investigate typical pad weight gain (PWG) in asymptomatic women who have never reported any episodes of urinary incontinence.
Methods
An observational study was performed by measuring the increase in weight of small sanitary pads worn by 35 healthy, female volunteers of a median age 36 (range, 23–56) years. Each pad was worn for a minimum of 5 h which is the typical maximum duration of an ambulatory urodynamics study.
Results
The median duration of pad wear was 6 h (interquartile range [IQR], 5–8). The median PWG was 0.111 g (IQR, 0.047–0.255). The maximum recorded PWG was 0.621 g and the minimum was 0.012 g. PWG was not significantly affected by age, parity, years since last delivery, body mass index, or menopausal status.
Conclusions
PWG over a median duration of 6 h (IQR, 5–8) is typically <0.7 g in women who are asymptomatic of urinary incontinence. Therefore, PWGs in excess of 0.7 g over a 5‐h ambulatory urodynamics study in symptomatic women are likely to be diagnostic of urinary incontinence.