Epidemiology and natural history of urinary incontinence

This paper examines or current state of knowledge of the epidemiology of urinary incontinence. The population studied was community-dwelling noninstitutionalized persons. The review includes discussion of the prevalence, incidence, natural history and presence or racial and ethnic differences in the epidemiology of urinary incontinence. We also review con-elates and potential risk factors that have been revealed in epidemiological studies. Differences between epidemiological and clinical approaches to a health problem? help-seeking behavior and methodological issues for research are also discussed. We have reviewed a large number of completed studies in the field of urinary incontinence, and have emphasized high-quality and population-based studies. We also wished to present studies from a variety of countries. Because of the abundance of studies, only a small fraction can be presented here. Other studies may have equal standards and useful information, but lack of space precludes their inclusion.