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

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.

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.