HEARTS, minds and souls—it is time for geriatricians to bring more to continence management

Schlögl, Mathias; Gordon, Adam

Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI), the involuntary loss of urine, is a common health condition that may decrease the quality of life and which increases in incidence and prevalence with age. Recent epidemiologic data suggest an overall prevalence of 38% in women older than 60 years, increasing to 77% in older women living in nursing homes. Despite this high prevalence, incontinence remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in this age group. In a representative population of 7,000 participants drawn from the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing, 750 had UI of whom 285 (38%) had not sought the help of a health care professional. The reasons that older people do not seek help for incontinence are complex and multiplex. Stigma surrounding diagnosis, a sense of futility coupled to a notion that incontinence is a part of normal ageing and the fact that incontinence simply gets ‘lost’ in the midst of multimorbidity and frailty have all been shown to play a role. Active case finding has therefore been highlighted as a cornerstone of effective care in serial international guidelines.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 21, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jun 9, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 10, 2022
• Journal: Age and Ageing
• Print ISSN: 0002-0729
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2834
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1508-1511
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab088
• Keywords: Ageing; Geriatrics and Gerontology; General Medicine
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5720556
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article-abstract/50/5/1508/6294857?redirectedFrom=fulltext
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Age and Ageing following peer review. The version of record Mathias Schlögl, Adam Gordon, HEARTS, minds and souls—it is time for geriatricians to bring more to continence management, Age and Ageing, Volume 50, Issue 5, September 2021, Pages 1508–1511, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab088