Determination of Factors Associated With Urinary Incontinence in Older Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Background: The objective of the present study was to examine the demographic and physical predictors of urinary incontinence (UI) in older patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: The cross-sectional observational study comprised 55 patients diagnosed with AD, whose disease severity was assessed by a neurologist as mild to moderate. The following instruments were utilised for evaluation: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), the Functional Reach Test (FRT), the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), the Activity-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC) and the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6).

Results: The patients' mean age was 76.24 ± 6.66 years. A significant difference was found between educational status and UDI-6 scores. No other significant associations were observed between demographic characteristics and UI measures. In addition, IIQ-7 showed weak correlations with TUG (r = 0.222), FES-I (r = 0.257) and ABC (r = -0.250).

Conclusions: A weak correlation was observed between physical performance, fear of falling, and balance confidence in individuals diagnosed with AD. Moreover, individuals with lower educational attainment exhibited a greater propensity to experience UI. Future research is recommended to investigate the relationship between somatosensory symptoms and UI in individuals with AD.