• Mika Harai, Asae Oura, Yoko Yoshikawa, and Mitsuru Mori.
• Sapporo City University School of Nursing, Japan.
• Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi. 2013 Feb 1; 60 (2): 79-86.

ObjectivesUrination diseases--particularly urinary incontinence (UI)--strongly affect individuals' quality of life (QOL). It is important to maintain overall QOL in societies with an increasing number of long-living elderly people, such as in Japan. Thus, this study aims to clarify the risk factors concerning UI in elderly women.MethodsFor this study, we obtained the approval of the Ethical Committee of Sapporo Medical University. In October 2010, we randomly selected 1,600 women, aged between 65 and 74 years, from the registry of Sapporo city residents and mailed out a self-administered questionnaire. Our questionnaire consisted of five subsections (24 items in total), including fundamental attributes, health condition, past history, present illness, and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF). The self-reported prevalence of UI was defined as frequent UI being at least once a week. A logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors for UI.ResultsAmong those who received the questionnaire, 802 women (response rate: 50.1%) returned a completed questionnaire with written informed consent. Their mean age (+/- standard deviation) was 69.8 +/- 2.6 years, and the prevalence of UI was found to be 29.7%. The mean scores (+/- standard deviation) of ICIQ-SF were 1.7 +/- 2.9 for all participating subjects, and 5.55 +/- 2.50 and 0.09 +/- 0.53 for the groups with or without UI, respectively. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis were as follows: the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) was 1.94 (1.32, 2.85) for a past maximum weight heavier than or equal to 60 kg; 1.98 (1.18, 3.32) for a smoking index more than or equal to 300; 2.54 (1.47, 4.39) for a poor self-perceived health status; 1.62 (1.09, 2.40) for having a past history of bladder diseases; 1.72 (1.11, 2.69) for having a past history of hemorrhoidal disease; and 2.05 (1.36, 3.10) for a history of UI in one's mother.ConclusionThe self-reported prevalence rate of UI was 29.7% in women aged 65-74 years. In the future, we plan to conduct a follow-up survey to further clarify the risk factors of UI that have been implicated in this cross-sectional study.

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