A procedure that uses mesh tape to relieve stress urinary incontinence is more likely to be effective in premenopausal women than those who have been through the menopause, a study has found.

Stress incontinence is one of the most common types of urinary incontinence, which affects about 13 per cent of women to some extent.

It occurs when the pelvic floor muscles become too weak to prevent the leakage of urine, particularly when the bladder comes under pressure during coughing, sneezing, laughing or heavy lifting, and is common in women who have previously given birth.

Midurethral synthetic slings, such as the transobturator tape, have become the most commonly performed procedure for women with stress incontinence, according to background material in the article, which is published in the Korean Journal of Urology.

However, little is known about the relative effectiveness of the minimally invasive procedure in premenopausal women compared with postmenopausal patients.

To shed light on the issue, scientists at the Baskent University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey, studied 45 premenopausal women (average age 44) and a further 49 volunteers (average age 60) who had already been through the menopause.

All of the participants received treatment for stress incontinence between 2004 and 2010.

The researchers found that average operation times and hospital stays varied little between the two groups of patients.

Similarly, there was no significant difference in the rate of complications between pre- and postmenopausal women.

However, when asked about the extent to which they were satisfied with their operation's outcome, premenopausal women tended to report higher levels of satisfaction than their older counterparts.

The study authors concluded: "The transobturator tape operation appeared to be more effective in premenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence.

"However, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our results."