Urinary continence in women during centrifuge exposure to high plus Gz

Background: One earlier study and anecdotal evidence suggest a possible ass ociation between exposure to high +Gz forces and urinary incontinence in wo men. High +Gz could possibly contributes to the prolapse of the bladder nec k, moving it into a position which decreases the leak point pressure result ing in urinary incontinence. Hypothesis: We tested the hypothesis that incr eased urinary incontinence is associated with high +Gz. Methods: 25 females were exposed to a high +Gz profile. Following the exposure they were asked to answer a questionnaire grading their urinary continence under high +Gz, and to provide a baseline grading of their urinary continence at +1.0 Cr a nd under increased abdominal stress at +1.0 Gz. Demographic data included p arity and previous urogenital surgery. Graded responses were dichotomized a nd data was analyzed using Fischer's Exact Test for 2 x 2 tables with signi ficance set at alpha = 0.05. Results At high +Gz no significant association was found between reported urine incontinence and a history of urogenital surgery or parity. Only one of twenty-five subjects had any symptoms at hig h + Gz despite the fact that five had a predisposition. As expected, at +1. 0 Gz and under increased abdominal stress at +1.0 GI, a significant associa tion was found between reported urine incontinence and a history of urogeni tal surgery, while no significant association was found for parity. Conclus ions In this simple first look there was no increase in urinary incontinenc e at high +Gz even among those who reported a predisposition.