Association of urinary incontinence with impaired functional status among older people living in a long-term care setting

Aim: To examine the association between functional status and urinary incontinence. Methods: A total of 27 participants with urinary incontinence and 50 participants without urinary incontinence were analyzed at a long-term care setting in Pingtung County, Taiwan, in 2011. The recruitment criteria were age older than 65 years, ability to communicate with the researcher, agreement to participate in the present study and potential ability to complete at least one measurement of functional status. Urinary incontinence was defined as urine leakage at least once a week during the past 4 weeks, whereas functional status was assessed by the body composition (body mass index and waist circumference), upper body strength (grasp test), lower body strength (30-s and 5-times chair stand test), upper body flexibility (back scratch test), lower body flexibility (chair sit-and-reach test) and agility/dynamic balance (8-ft up-and-go test). Results: In univariate analyses, performances on the tests of 5-time chair stand, 30-s chair stand, 8-ft up-and-go, chair sit-and-reach, and grasp were significantly different between the participants with and without urinary incontinence (all P < 0.05). However, after multiple logistical regression adjusting sex, age and chronic illnesses, just two tests, 8-ft up-and-go and chair sit-and-reach, were independent predictors of urinary incontinence. Conclusion: Poor performance on the tests of 8-ft up-and-go and chair sit-and-reach were the predominated risk factors of urinary incontinence. Further studies regarding how to improve the functional status, especially focusing on the function of the lower body, might be required in order to enhance continence care.