Ten-Year Prevalence and Incidence of Urinary Incontinence in Older Women: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Health and Retirement Study.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the incidence of urinary incontinence (UI) over 10 years in older women who did not report UI at baseline in 1998, to estimate the prevalence of female UI according to severity and type, and to explore potential risk factors for development of UI.

DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort.

SETTING: Health and Retirement Study.

PARTICIPANTS: Women participating in the Health and Retirement Study between 1998 and 2008 who did not have UI at baseline (1998).

MEASUREMENTS: UI was defined as an answer of "yes" to the question, "During the last 12 months, have you lost any amount of urine beyond your control?" UI was characterized according to severity (according to the Sandvik Severity Index) and type (according to International Continence Society definitions) at each biennial follow-up between 1998 and 2008.

RESULTS: In 1998, 5,552 women aged 51 to 74 reported no UI. The cumulative incidence of UI in older women was 37.2% (95% confidence interval (CI)=36.0-38.5%). The most common incontinence type at the first report of leakage was mixed UI (49.1%, 95% CI=46.5-51.7%), and women commonly reported their symptoms at first leakage as moderate to severe (46.4%, 95% CI=43.8-49.0%).

CONCLUSION: Development of UI in older women was common and tended to result in mixed type and moderate to severe symptoms.