A review of the quality-of-life aspects of urinary urge incontinence

Urinary incontinence (UI) is prevalent and costly, occurring in 15 to 30% of the US population over the age of 60 years. Among people aged 15 to 64 years, UI occurs in 1.5 to 5% of men and 10 to 25% of women. Severe incontinence occurs in 6% of the general US population, and it is estimated that $US10 billion per year is spent in direct costs alone on care for these patients. This review presents a description of the various types of VI and describes the prevalence and costs of the condition. In addition, 3 approaches to assessing the impact of UI on quality of life are discussed, namely generic measures, disease-specific measures and qualitative approaches. We also review papers on UI and sexual functioning, UI in men, and some aspects of treatment. The review was conducted in the process of developing a new disease-specific measure for urinary urge incontinence (UUI). In general, the literature suggests that UUI has a greater impact than stress incontinence on quality of life, and that UI affects social and psychological functioning more than physical functioning. Only in a minority of individuals is the impact of UI disabling; however, most individuals with UI show significant reduction in their social functioning. Several studies suggest that the impact of UI is not solely a function of its severity, but also depends on individual coping abilities. Some studies also indicate that the social problems associated with UI grow with time, but it is not clear if that is a function of increasing severity of the condition, or the particular adaptations required for coping with this problem. An important distinction appears to be the ability of individuals to avoid public notice of their condition because of uncontrolled accidents. In summary, there is a need for a new measure of the quality-of-life impact of UUI that is based on the literature and on in-depth interviews with patients.