ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Urol.
Sec. Male Urology
This article is part of the Research TopicApproaches and Advances in Urologic Cancer EpidemiologyView all 8 articles
Network Analysis of Urinary Incontinence–Related Quality of Life in Patients after Radical Prostatectomy
Provisionally accepted
- Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Objective Urinary incontinence is a significant complication that severely impacts the quality of life of patients following radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. This study aims to construct a symptom network of urinary incontinence–related quality of life in patients after radical prostatectomy, to analyze the network structure and the interconnections among its components, and to identify core and bridge symptoms. The findings are intended to provide a theoretical basis for the management and improvement of urinary incontinence–related quality of life in this patient population. Methods Convenience sampling was used to select 236 patients with urinary incontinence following radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer from two tertiary Grade A hospitals in Chongqing, China, between October 2024 and June 2025.Data were collected using a general information questionnaire and the Chinese version of Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire. The network was constructed using R software to describe the relationships between symptoms, and node and bridge centrality index were calculated. Results Symptom network analysis showed that the strength (rs = 1.21) and expected influence(rei = 1.18) were highest for the symptom "I feel depressed because of my incontinence" ,The top three symptoms with the highest bridge strength and bridge expected influence were: "I worry about wetting myself" (rbs = 1.29, rbei = 1.25), "I worry about being embarrassed or humiliated because of my incontinence" (rbs = 1.24, rbei = 1.21), and "I worry about others smelling urine on me" (rbs = 0.94, rbei = 0.85). Conclusion Through symptom network analysis, this study identified the core symptom of depression related to urinary incontinence, along with three bridge symptoms that connect different dimensions. Bridge symptoms are those that link distinct symptom clusters within the network. Consequently, future research can focus on developing urinary incontinence management programs targeting both core and bridge symptoms to enhance the precision and effectiveness of interventions. Clinical practitioners can then implement these programs to help alleviate the multifaceted burdens associated with urinary incontinence, including psychological distress, social embarrassment, and activity limitations, ultimately improving patients’ overall quality of life.
Keywords: Network analysis, Nursing, Quality of Life, Radical Prostatectomy, Urinary Incontinence
Received: 31 Oct 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 黄, Shi, Li, Zheng and 黄. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: 晓琴 黄
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