Conclusions
Our study provides support for the association between
DM2 and bladder dysfunction in women. This study should
alert nurses in general practice to a subject that is usually
overlooked and needs to be considered when providing
routine diabetes care to women with DM2. Our study has
strengths such as using a standardised questionnaire to
assess incontinence and inclusion of types of incontinence in
the analysis comprising any, stress and urge. The use of
one-to-one interviews by Emirati female students enhanced
the validity of the responses and increased the response rate.
Finally, even though our study identified three risk
factors for incontinence in Emirati women with DM2, there
is no single diabetes-related risk factor, however, that
appears to be able to identify the precise mechanism that
leads to incontinence in women with DM2. Clinical studies
are needed to elucidate the exact mechanism of how DM2
influences the bladder function. Future studies could include
qualitative analysis to assess the impact of incontinence on
quality of life of Muslim women with DM2.