A 52-year-old woman is experiencing urinary incontinence when she coughs or sneezes. What type of urinary incontinence does she have?

The scenario describes a 52-year-old woman experiencing urinary incontinence specifically during activities that increase abdominal pressure, such as coughing or sneezing. This pattern of incontinence is characteristic of stress incontinence.

Stress incontinence occurs when weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and/or the urethral sphincter mechanism fails to adequately prevent involuntary leakage of urine during movements that increase intra-abdominal pressure. These movements include coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercising. In this case, the woman's symptoms align with this definition, confirming that her incontinence is stress-related.

In contrast, urgency incontinence is associated with a sudden, intense urge to urinate followed by involuntary loss of urine. Overflow incontinence involves frequent dribbling due to an overfilled bladder, often seen in conditions that obstruct the urinary tract or lead to bladder dysfunction. Functional incontinence occurs when a person is unable to get to the bathroom in time due to physical or mental impairment, which does not apply here.