PURPOSE: We examined the association between military exposure and urinary incontinence (UI) in United States (U.S.) men.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) 2005-2008 were merged and included 5,297 men (≥20 years). The question: "Did you ever serve in the Armed Forces of the U.S.?" (yes/no) assessed military exposure. UI was categorized as any UI or moderate/severe UI vs. none. Because the impact of military exposure varied by age, multivariable logistic regression models estimated odds rations (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) stratified by 3 age groups (≤ 55, 56-69, ≥70). Analyses were adjusted for race/ethnicity, education, body mass index, self-reported health status, number of chronic conditions, depression, and prostate conditions (men ≥ 40 years).
RESULTS: Overall, 23% of male respondents reported military exposure. Men with military exposure were more likely to report any UI (18.6% vs. 10.4%, p< 0.001) and moderate/severe UI (9.0% vs. 3.1%, p< 0.001) compared to men without military exposure. After multivariable adjustment, among men ≤ 55 years old, those with military exposure had a 3 times greater odds of UI (OR: 3.28; (95% CI 1.38-7.77)). Military exposure did not increase the odds of UI among men ages 56-69 years (OR 0.97; (95% CI 0.44-2.18)) or men ≥70 years (OR 0.91; (95% CI 0.55-1.50)).
CONCLUSIONS: Prior military exposure was associated with moderate/severe UI among U.S. men ≤ 55 years old, even after controlling for known risk factors. Case finding for UI among younger men with a history of military service is warranted.
Written by:
Vaughan CP, Johnson TM 2nd, Goode PS, Redden DT, Burgio KL, Markland AD. Are you the author?
Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia; Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Reference: J Urol. 2013 Jul 16. pii: S0022-5347(13)04892-1.
doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2013.07.016
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23871759
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