The effectiveness of digital therapeutics for rehabilitation of urinary incontinence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of digital therapeutics for rehabilitation of urinary incontinence. Methods Seven electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled studies investigating the effectiveness of digital therapeutics on urinary incontinence, reporting outcomes on urinary incontinence severity, adherence, the patient global impression of improvement (PGI-I), quality of life, and pelvic floor muscle function. The literature was reviewed, and the risk of bias was assessed. Meta-analysis was then conducted for each outcome using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 18.0. Results A total of 18 studies were included, involving 2308 individuals with urinary incontinence. Meta-analysis showed significant difference in urinary incontinence severity (SMD = −0.30, 95%CI: −0.53 to −0.07, P = 0.010), adherence (SMD = 1.79, 95%CI: 0.74–2.84, P = 0.0008), and PGI-I (RR = 1.70, 95%CI: 1.12–2.58, P = 0.010) between digital therapeutics compared with any type of control. However, the results showed no significant difference in quality of life and pelvic floor muscle function (all P > 0.05). Conclusion This review suggests that digital therapeutics-based interventions may be significantly more effective than controls in alleviating urinary incontinence severity, enhancing adherence and improving PGI-I. However, due to the evidence quality, confidence in these findings is low. Therefore, future research should generate more robust evidence to validate the effectiveness of digital therapeutics on rehabilitation of urinary incontinence.