CHICAGO, IL USA (UroToday) - Since 1976, the Nurses’ Health Study has studied 120,000 female registered nurses, starting at age 30-55 years and representing 11 states.
In this study, researchers followed these women every two years with a questionnaire. Nurses, selected intentionally for their advanced health literacy, demonstated very accurate responses; a 90% follow-up rate was achieved with this cohort. Urinary incontinence was first questioned in 2,000 and since that time, five repeated measures have been taken over eight years of follow-up. The questions asked: How often the nurse experienced urinary leakage and about the type of urinary incontinence. The women in this UI cohort were 54-79 years of age, the vast majority being white, and a majority were overweight. All women were married at the time of study. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes was 6% versus the general population at 10%.
Researchers concluded that UI is an extremely prevalent problem in women; 10% had UI weekly for all eight years.
| Overall |
ages 51-59 |
ages 75-79 |
|
| FREQUENCY | 75 515 | 17 601 | 10 484 |
| Never | 53% | 61% | 45% |
| At least Once | 47% | 39% | 55% |
| Recurrent UI | 26% | 20% | 33% |
| Persistent UI | 11% | 8% | 14% |
Trends over 8 years 2000 ---- 2008 indicate 2/3 should expect to have incontinence continually for 8; in contrast only 4% reported having no incontinence.
In concludsion, the type of UI did not change very much. UI is a constant and consistent problem. Physicians and staff will need to initiate conversations with their older female patients as they will rarely offer the information. Too many women mistakenly think UI is a natural part of aging. In this study, only a very small percentage of these nurse were getting treated.
Presented by F. Grodstein* at the annual American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting - October 3 - 6, 2012 - Hilton Chicago - Chicago, Illinois USA
*Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Reported for UroToday by Karen Roberts, Medical Editor
This year’s 33rd Annual Meeting of the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) is the largest gathering to date with an increase in abstracts (346) and video presentations (41). AUGS reports an overall membership increase at 1,500 members.
