Urinary Incontinence in Women

Urinary incontinence is a common condition in women. Approximately 25% of young women (1), 44–57% of middle-aged and postmenopausal women (2), and 75% of older women experience some involuntary urine loss (3, 4). The estimated direct cost of urinary incontinence care in the United States is $19.5 billion (5). Approximately 6% of nursing home admissions of older women can be attributed to urinary incontinence (5), with an estimated cost of $3 billion per year (6). Despite the prevalence of urinary incontinence, many women are hesitant to seek care or discuss their symptoms with a physician. In a survey of women in the United States, only 45% of women who reported at least weekly urine leakage sought care for their incontinence symptoms (7). As a result, many women with urinary incontinence live with physical, functional, and psychological limitations and diminished quality of life at home and at work (8). Because urinary incontinence can be a difficult topic for patients to discuss, physicians should elicit information from patients and screen for these symptoms. Etiology