PREVALENCE OF URINARY INCONTINENCE IN ELDERLY WOMEN

Abstract

Abstract : INTRODUCTION Urinary incontinence is defined
by the International Continence Society as the complaint of
any involuntary leak of urine. Many regard it as a normal
aspect of ageing . There is a culture of silence and low
consultation rate among elderly Indian women regarding
incontinence. AIM To estimate the prevalence of urinary
incontinence in 500 consecutive women aged 65 years and
above attending the geriatric outpatient department at
Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
METHODOLOGY It is a cross sectional study. Inclusion
criteria women over 65 years of age willing to participate in
the study. Exclusion criteria those unwilling to give informed
consent or those with severe degree of cognitive impairment
who cannot understand the questionnaire. Study participants
were screened using the 3IQ (three incontinence questions)
questionnaire. The questionnaire is in English and was
translated in Tamil to the study participants by the
investigator. RESULTS 38 percent of the study population
had incontinence. However only 5.2 percent of the incontinent
elders complained of urine leak themselves. Prevalence of
incontinence increased with increasing age and parity.
Diabetes, congestive cardiac failure, constipation and diuretic
use were found to be statistically significant risk factors.
Keyword :urinary incontinence, elderly women, stress leak,
urge incontinence, prevalence.