Behavioral strategies for the treatment of urinary incontinence in women

Abstract

Urinary incontinence is estimated to affect nearly 40% of older women. While it is widely accepted that the prevalence of urinary incontinence is high in older women [1], the few longitudinal studies that included younger women have shown a surprising prevalence in younger age groups, with only minimal increases in prevalence as age increases (peaking in the fifth decade) [2-5]. Further, in studies comparing gender differences, women older than 60-65 years have urinary incontinence prevalence rates 1.5 to 2 times that of same aged men [6,7]; the gender difference is even greater (3 to 7 times) in younger women, 25 to 64 years old [4]. The earlier age of onset magnifies the potential impact that urinary incontinence has on years of healthy life in women compared to men. Women are not only much more likely to become incontinent than men, but will also live a much larger portion of their life with urinary incontinence than will men. © 2006 Springer-Verlag London Limited.