As many as one in eight healthy young women is affected by urinary incontinence, according to a new study by scientists in Australia.

Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne conducted a survey of 1,000 young women to see how many were affected by female incontinence - a condition that tends to be associated with older women.

Participants were aged between 16 and 30 years, none of whom had ever been pregnant - another known risk factor for urinary incontinence.

To their surprise, the researchers found that 12.6 per cent of respondents had experienced episodes of female incontinence, despite the fact they were young and had not been pregnant.

The majority of those affected by the condition reported stress incontinence, which occurred in 6.2 per cent of women, while 4.5 per cent had urge incontinence and 1.9 per cent had both forms.

Tessa O'Halloran, an honours student who was involved in the research at Monash University, claimed: "The findings are important as previous studies have shown that urinary incontinence is clearly related to pregnancy and being overweight.

"However, the extent to which urinary incontinence affects younger women who have never been pregnant has not been understood until now."

The researchers also looked to see if they could identify any risk factors associated with female incontinence in young women.

Ms O'Halloran revealed that women were more likely to need incontinence supplies, such as Tena Lady incontinence pads, if they had been sexually active.

However, the risk for these women was reduced by 50 per cent if they were using oral contraceptives.

Analysis also revealed that women were more likely to be affected by urinary incontinence if they had wet the bed beyond five years of age.

Ms O'Halloran, whose findings will be presented at the Australasian Menopause Society Congress this month, advised: "I encourage young women who are experiencing this problem to speak to a medical practitioner to learn how to best manage the problem in the short term, and then to prevent a worsening of the condition in later life."