In a large representative British population of individuals in their late 60s, the prevalence of urinary incontinence was 15% in men and 54% in women. In the BJU International analysis, urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) was the most common subtype in men, while there were similar proportions of UUI and stress urinary incontinence in women.
Female sex, previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack diagnosis, and increased BMI were risk factors for UUI. Hypertension was also a risk factor in men only.
"Although higher BMI was known to contribute to UUI, our findings suggest this may be related to vascular risk factors, in addition to the mechanical contributions of increased body mass," said lead author Dr. Alex Tsui, of University College London, in the UK. "Our results also seem to support more severe UUI symptoms to be a distinct disease entity from milder UUI."
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Journal
BJU International