Prevalence and risk factors of incontinence after stroke - The Copenhagen Stroke Study

Background and Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate in a community-based population the prevalence of both urinary (UI) and fecal (FI) incontinence and to analyze risk factors by means of multivariate analysis. Methods Included were 935 acute stroke patients admitted consecutively during 19 months. We evaluated UI and FI using subscores of the Barthel Index during the hospital stay and at 6-month follow-up. Results On admission, the proportions of patients with full UI, partial UI, and no UI were 36%, 11%, and 53%, respectively (8%, 11%, and 81% at 6-month follow-up). The proportions of patients with full FI, partial FI, and no FI on admission were 34%, 6%, and 60%, respectively (5%, 4%, and 91% at 6-month follow-up). By multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for UI and FI were age, severity of stroke, diabetes, and comorbidity of other disabling diseases. Conclusions On admission in the acute state, almost half of an unselected stroke population have UI and/or FI. The proportion declines to one fifth (UI) and one tenth (FI) of the surviving patients at 6 months. Increasing age, stroke severity, diabetes, and other disabling diseases increase the risk of UI as well as FI.