BACKGROUND: To determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in female 
long-distance runners and to compare it with the presence or not of eating 
disorders. Methods - A total of 37 women have completed the International 
Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) and the short 
version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). A one-hour pad test was performed 
to determine urine loss. Mean values of continuous variables were compared using 
an independent sample t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test.
RESULTS: 23 athletes (62.2%) reported urine loss. The mean of the ICIQ-SF was 
4.03 +/- 5.06. There was a significant relation between the 1-hour pad test 
(p=0.02) and eating disorders (p=0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: There was urinary incontinence in female long-distance runners and 
a correlation with eating disorders. Coaches should improve their knowledge 
about this problem and establish cooperation with a multidisciplinary team.