Facts About Incontinence

The high prevalence of Urinary Incontinence (UI) and its significant adverse physical, psychological and financial effects clearly justify more aggressive efforts to identify, evaluate and treat UI in all settings.

• There are 13 -17 million cases of UI in the United States.
• 1 in 4 women ages 30-59 have experienced an episode of UI.
• 50% or more of the elderly persons living at home or in long-term care facilities are incontinent.
• $16.4 billion is spent every year on incontinence-related care: $11.2 billion for community-based programs and at home, and $5.2 billion in long-term care facilities.
• $1.1 billion is spent every year on disposable products for adults.

UI is a voiding dysfunction that affects approximately 13 - 17 million Americans, with the highest prevalence in the elderly in both community and institutional settings. * Growing evidence indicates that appropriate management can reduce the morbidity and cost of UI.

Although the prevalence of UI increases with age, UI should not be considered a normal part of the aging process. Reported prevalence rates of UI vary considerably, depending on the population studied, the definition of UI, and how the information is obtained. Among the population between 15 and 64 years of age, the prevalence of UI in men ranges from 1.5 to 5 percent and in women from 10 to 30 percent.

Who is affected?

Women are affected by the disorder more frequently than are men; one in 10 women under age 65 suffer from urinary incontinence.

Older Americans are more prone to the condition, with 20 percent of Americans over age 65 being incontinent. For non-institutionalized people older than 60 years of age, the prevalence of UI ranges from 15 to 35 percent, with women having twice the prevalence of men. Between 25 and 30 percent of those identified as incontinent have frequent incontinence episodes, usually daily or weekly.

*National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Advisory Board, 1994.