Impact of urinary incontinence in community-dwelling women
Jung, M.; Faltin, D.L.; Rutschmann, O.
Revue Medicale Suisse 2(83): 2332-2335
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 1660-9379 PMID: 17112083 Document Number: 602510
Urinary incontinence (UI) is a frequent problem in an aging population and prevalence of urinary incontinence for elderly women may be up to 50% and imposes a huge burden on the health care system comparable to osteoporosis or osteoarthritis. The impact of UI shows clear associations between UI and depression and decline of quality of life comparable to congestive heart failure, major respiratory condition or gastrointestinal tract conditions. Some limited data suggest that UI is also a risk factor for institutionalization and hospitalization. Despite effective treatments, UI is significantly underdiagnosed by clinicians, and underreported by patients. This results in unmet needs for incontinence treatment, in particular for older individuals.