Urinary incontinence (UI) is a condition that can affect the quality of life of affected women. The impact of UI can be even greater in women with chronic conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which can compromise various systems. Thus, it is necessary to understand the impact of UI on different aspects of life, such as social, emotional, and daily activities of women with SLE.

To analyze the impact of urinary incontinence on the quality of life of women with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cross-sectional study with 21 women diagnosed with SLE and complaints of urinary incontinence aged 18 years or older. The study was conducted at the Rheumatology outpatient clinic of a University Hospital. Participants answered the "urinary impact questionnaire" (UIQ-7) subscale of the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire-7 (PFIQ-7), which contains seven questions about the impact of urinary incontinence on different aspects of life. Means and standard deviations (SD), absolute and relative frequencies were calculated.

21 women with a mean age of 46.76 years (SD = 11.92) participated in the study. Regarding the type of UI, 42.8% of women had stress urinary incontinence (SUI), 28.6% urge urinary incontinence (UUI), and 28.6% mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). Regarding the UIQ-7 responses, 19 women (90.5%) did not report an impact on their ability to perform domestic activities. 14.3% of women indicated a significant impact on their ability to perform physical activities. Regarding entertainment activities, 4.8% indicated a slight impact and 14.3% reported a significant impact. Regarding the ability to travel long distances, 61.9% of women reported no impact. In social activities, 14.3% reported a moderate impact. 14.3% reported a significant impact on emotional health. Regarding the feeling of frustration, 28.6% consider themselves very frustrated with the situation.

The UIQ-7 results reveal that urinary incontinence has a considerable impact on the quality of life of women with SLE. It is recommended that further studies be carried out with larger samples.

This study highlights the importance of assessing the impact of urinary incontinence on the quality of life of women with SLE. The results can be used to stimulate the development of interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of these women.