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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Aruna V. Sarma, PhD¹, Leslee Subak², Feng Lin³, John W. Kusek, PhD⁴, Leroy M. Nyberg, MD, PhD⁴, and Jeanette S. Brown, MD². (1) Department of Urology, University of Michigan, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, 734-763-7514, asarma@umich.edu, (2) UCSF Women's Health Clinical Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, 1635 Divisadero St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94115, (3) Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 1635 Divisadero St., Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94115, (4) NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Building 45, Room 6AS-13J, 45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-6600

Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) is common and is associated with substantial medical, psychosocial and economic burden. While the prevalence of and risk factors for UI are well described for women, there are limited data and inconsistent findings for men. In this study we describe the prevalence of and risk factors for UI in community-dwelling women and men using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2002. Methods: NHANES 2001-2002 was a national survey that included self-reported validated questions on UI. Non-pregnant women and men Ан20 years of age in the survey who had complete data for UI questions were included in the analysis. Prevalence and potential predictors of UI were examined using methods that accounted for multistage sampling and probability weights. Results: Among 2147 women and 2274 men, 21% of women and 4% of men reported having Ан weekly UI. Prevalence of Ан weekly UI increased significantly with age, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure and comorbid conditions including, diabetes, hypertension, and stroke in both men and women. In women, body mass index, parity, hysterectomy and postmenopausal status were also associated with increased risk of UI. Smoking was associated with a decreased prevalence of UI only in men. Self-reported overall health status significantly decreased with prevalence of UI in both women and men. Conclusion: Urinary incontinence is a common problem in U.S. women and men. Several associated factors are preventable or modifiable, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and pelvic surgery and may direct future research in UI therapy.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Recognize modifiable risk factors for urinary incontinence in both men and women in the United States, such as diabetes, hypertension, smoking and obesity.
• Identify that smoking is only significantly associated with urinary incontinence in men.
• Develop a plan of action to modify the risk factors for urinary incontinence, to reduce the morbidity associated with this condition.

Keywords: Gender, Outcomes Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation