Prevalence of urinary incontinence among the elderly and relationship with physical and mental health indicators

Abstract Objective: to verify the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its relationship with physical and mental health indicators in the elderly population of Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Method: a cross-sectional population-based study was conducted in 2008 with 1,593 elderly persons. Poisson regression was used for crude and adjusted analysis between the outcomes and the independent variables. Results: the prevalence of urinary incontinence was 20.7%, being 26.9% among women and 10.3% among men. The associated factors were female gender, age 70 to 74 and 75 years or over, yellow/brown/indigenous ethnicity/skin color and no schooling. The prevalence of functional disability, depression, cognitive deficit and very poor/poor self-perception of health was significantly higher in women with urinary incontinence. Among incontinent men, the same was observed with regard to functional disability and cognitive deficit. Conclusion: the occurrence of urinary incontinence in the elderly is frequent, especially in women, with a significant relationship with physical and mental health conditions in the elderly population. These results support the development of care strategies to prevent incontinence and minimize its health impacts.

摘要 研究目的：验证巴西南部里奥格兰德州巴热市老年人群尿失禁的患病率及其与身心健康指标的关联。研究方法：于2008年开展一项基于人群的横断面研究，共纳入1593名老年人。采用泊松回归（Poisson regression）对结局变量与自变量进行粗分析与校正分析。研究结果：尿失禁患病率为20.7%，其中女性为26.9%、男性为10.3%。相关危险因素包括女性性别、70~74岁及75岁以上年龄组、黄/棕/土著族裔/肤色以及未受教育。伴尿失禁的女性群体中，功能障碍、抑郁、认知功能缺损以及健康自评极差/较差的比例显著更高；在尿失禁男性群体中，功能障碍与认知功能缺损亦呈现相同关联。研究结论：老年人群尿失禁发生率较高，尤以女性为甚，且与该群体的身心健康状况存在显著关联。本研究结果可为制定预防尿失禁并减轻其健康影响的照护策略提供依据。