Urinary incontinence is a common complaint among women, with NHS figures suggesting that around 13 per cent of women in the UK are affected to some extent.

Now, a new study by scientists at Taipei University Hospital in Taiwan has revealed that the problem may be even more prevalent in women who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

This type of injury is caused by a trauma to the head, such as during a road traffic accident, assault or fall, and may vary in severity from short-term amnesia to coma or long-term amnesia.

Official figures show that around 700,000 people attend A&E departments in England and Wales with head injuries each year, around ten per cent of which are moderate or severe.

In the latest study, researchers at the Taipei University Hospital looked at data on 20,342 women, all of whom sustained a traumatic brain injury between 2001 and 2007.

They compared these data with records of 61,026 participants who did not have a history of brain injury.

All of the participants were followed for one year to see whether they subsequently developed a need for incontinence products, such as Ganmill Washable Incontinence Pants.

The researchers found that 1.03 per cent of women with traumatic brain injury were diagnosed with urinary incontinence during the year after their injury, compared with just 0.49 per cent of women in the control group.

Once possible risk factors had been taken into account, the researchers concluded that the degree of increased risk was still about the same for women who had sustained a brain injury.

Presenting their findings at the annual meeting of the International Continence Society, which took place in Glasgow between August 29th and September 2nd, the study authors concluded that brain injury sufferers appeared to have an increased risk of incontinence.

They said: "Our results suggest that an increased risk of urinary incontinence exists at the first year follow-up in patients with a traumatic brain injury diagnosis."