The relative importance of different consequences of nocturnal enuresis among older women: A conjoint analysis experiment.

INTRODUCTION: Adult nocturnal enuresis (NE) is an understudied and bothersome condition. Our objective was to conduct a conjoint analysis experiment to better understand the relative importance of NE consequences in older women. METHODS: We developed a conjoint analysis survey that included four attributes related to NE (awakening at night, feeling rested in the morning, restricting fluid before bed, and wet perineal skin). We performed a prospective cross-sectional online study of women >62 years of age with NE using Sawtooth Software. Patients completed baseline questions, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-nocturia Quality of Life (ICIQ-NqoL), and the conjoint analysis experiment. Hierarchical Bayes random effects regression analysis was used to determine the relative importance of the four attributes. RESULTS: A total of 200 women with a mean age of 71 years completed the study. The most common management of NE was diapers/pads (132/200). Approximately half of the participants experienced NE several times a week or nightly (101/200). The most important attribute was the frequency of being awakened at night (34, standard deviation [SD]: 16) and the frequency of feeling rested in the morning (32, SD: 15). Limiting drinking before bed (18, SD: 12) and wet groin skin (16, SD: 10) had significantly lower importance scores (p < 0.05). Age, sleeping with a partner in bed, body mass index, NE severity score, and the ICIQ-NqOL score were not significantly associated with any of the importance scores. CONCLUSIONS: Older women with NE place significantly more importance on the frequency of awakening at night, and feeling rested in the morning and lesser importance on associated lifestyle or physical manifestations of NE.