https://researchopenworld.com/gps-should-actively-ask-about-symptoms-of-urinary-or-faecal-incontinence-in-ageing-female-patients/#

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate how common incontinence problem is and how it could be detected in an unselected population. Methods: Cross-sectional study in primary care population. A population survey of women born in 1948 or 1950 and living in a municipality with 19,535 inhabitants in south-western Finland in 2017. Main outcome measures were i ncidence of urinary or faecal incontinence. Results: After analyzing the questionnaires and research findings, we found that urinary incontinence is a common phenomenon, reported by 50.3% of participants. According to the Urinary Incontinence Severity Score (UISS), 12.7% of them believed that the degree of disability was remarkable, and according to the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), 18.3% considered the degree of disability to be difficult. In this study obesity was the most common feature affecting urinary incontinence. Conclusion: Urinary incontinence is a common problem and will increase as the population ages. It can deteriorate a person’s quality of life, increase her need of care and involve considerable costs. Preventing the problem and treating it as early as possible in primary health-care is both reasonable and saves time and money. Urinary incontinence is a common problem in the ageing female population. Many women are ashamed of their incontinence and do not even mention it during the GP’s consultation. Preventing the problem and treating it as early as possible in primary healthcare is important.