Stress urinary incontinence is more prevalent among women practicing CrossFit® than swimming and not diminished by physical inactivity

Tomasz Chomiuk; Przemysław Kasiak; Kaja Czupryńska; Artur Mamcarz; Daniel Śliż

doi:10.2478/bhk-2026-0004

Abstract

Study aim

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common problem that could be aggravated among females during training. The differences between those practicing particular disciplines and the physically inactive are unknown. Therefore, we addressed those issues in the present study among females practicing CrossFit^®, swimming, and in the general population.

Materials and methods

125 childless females (67.2% were 18–24 years old, and 81.6% had a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m²) completed a survey which included sociodemographic data, training regimen, and the ICIQ-SF. Females could specify their preferred sports discipline and their level of fitness. We developed a multivariable logistic regression model to find training-related or demographic predictors of SUI. Finally, we conducted a comparative analysis of the SUI prevalence between preferred disciplines.

Results

We observed the highest frequency of SUI in the CrossFit^® subgroup (n = 20, 48.8%), lower in swimmers (n = 14, 32.6%), and inactive females (n = 10, 24.4%). In the final model (χ ²(74) = 16.84, P = 0.051, R ² = 0.25), only BMI was a significant predictor for developing SUI (β = 0.30, P = 0.04). No other significant predictors were found (P = 0.05–0.99). There were significant differences in the frequency of SUI between CrossFit^® and swimming subgroups (χ ²(1) = 5.26, P = 0.02, OR = 2.95), CrossFit^® and inactive subgroups (χ ²(1) = 5.19, P = 0.02, OR = 2.95), but not between swimming and inactive subgroups (χ ²(1) = 0.69, P = 0.41, OR = 1.50).

Conclusions

SUI is the most common in females who train in CrossFit^®, but differences between swimmers and inactive females are not significant. Increased BMI has the highest contribution to the risk of SUI in physically active females, with a non-significant impact of other demographic or training-related variables.

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