Urinary Incontinence And The Loss Of Control

December 15th, 2011

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How Many People Are Affected By Urinary Incontinence?

Including all these possible types, Urinary Incontinence affects between 1 in 20 to 1 in 12 people. Women are by far the most at risk with an approximately 5 to 6 times higher chance of developing the condition than men. Among the elderly, roughly 50% will suffer from some form of Urinary Incontinence. What this means is that millions of people suffer from the loss of control that comes with the condition. As the average age of the population increases, this situation is only going to get worse.

However, Urinary Incontinence is significantly under diagnosed and under treated. Based on research activities sponsored by the National Association For Continence, only 1 in 8 people who suffer from the condition are formally diagnosed. The average time for women to receive a diagnosis is more than 6 years from the time the first symptoms were experienced. Only purchasing trends for adult “diapers” provide an insight that roughly 25% of women will experience episodes of Urinary Incontinence during their lifetimes.

What Are The Consequences Of Urinary Incontinence?

In part, because of the stigma associated with bladder control issues and because it can limit people’s physical activities, Urinary Incontinence can have a serious effect on the quality of life. Based on research from the University of California San Francisco, researchers found that Urinary Incontinence caused “significant” reduction in the quality of life even when patients only experienced the problem once each month. As the symptoms were experienced more frequently, many patients even became distressed by the problem.

In addition to distress, a leaky bladder can also lead to depression. In research from the University of Iowa, researchers found that the odds of developing depression were 40% higher for women with mild to medium levels of incontinence and 80% for women with the more severe symptoms in comparison to women with full bladder control. Clearly the lack of control of the bladder has serious effects on our happiness.

Whether due to depression or also due to physical disability, Urinary Incontinence also leads to social isolation. In a study of older adults in Japan, by the Kumamoto Red Cross Health Care Center, 61% of men and 46% of women who were unable to leave their homes were diagnosed to be suffering from Urinary Incontinence. Yet among those with the condition, only 19% chose to see a doctor regarding the problem.

Conclusions

While we like to believe that we have control over our bodies, much of what our bodies do is really out of our direct control. Conditions such as Urinary Incontinence clearly demonstrate this, but too often, our beliefs regarding control over our bodies can cloud our judgment. Instead of seeking readily available treatments for this common medical condition, too many of us will suffer significantly in shame and silence. A far more productive approach is to dismiss the social stigma and to simply look at these symptoms as part of a medical problem needing a solution. There is simply no good reason to suffer in silence.