BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence (UI) is an important geriatric syndrome that has been associated with a wide range of health-related outcomes.
However, UI severity has rarely been examined in the context of a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the association between UI severity and health-related quality of life (QoL) when frequent geriatric issues are taken into account.
METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 1,124 participants aged 70 y and older. UI was diagnosed when difficulty with urinary continence was reported, and its severity was assessed through a modified version of the Sandvik Index. Health-related QoL was measured using the SF-36, including its physical and mental component summaries. Multivariate linear regression was performed to determine the association between UI severity and health-related QoL.
RESULTS: Prevalence of UI was 18%, and it was severe in 29.3% of cases. Severely incontinent subjects were older and had worse self-perceived health status, greater disability, and more depressive symptoms in comparison with continent participants or with those affected to a lesser degree. Multivariate regression analysis showed a significant inverse association between the physical component summaries and moderate (B = -4.54) as well as severe UI (B = -6.72). The mental component summaries showed similar results (B = -1.44 and -4.43, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: UI severity is associated with lower QoL scores in both its components. This association appears to be more important as severity increases. UI severity must be evaluated thoroughly in the elderly because of its potential adverse effects on physical and mental health.
Written by:
Aguilar-Navarro S, Navarrete-Reyes AP, Grados-Chavarría BH, García-Lara JM, Amieva H, Avila-Funes JA. Are you the author?
Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga 15, CP 14000 , Tlalpan, Distrito Federal, México.
Reference: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2012 Aug 9. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/gls152
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22879454
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