PREVALENCE OF URINARY INCONTINENCE IN ELDERLY WOMEN

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.