Symptoms of urinary and faecal incontinence among men and women 75+ in relation to health complaints and quality of life

Aims: The aim was to investigate the prevalence of s elf-reported symptom of urinary, faecal, anddouble incontinence (UI, FI, and DI) in men and women 75þ and to identify how other he althcomplaints and Quality of Life (QoL) relate to incontinence symptoms. Methods: Arandomiseds ample, strati¢ed for age, of eligible men and women from the p opulation were included in the studyand 4,277 out of 8,500 completed a postal questionnaire (61.6% women). The questions focused ondi⁄culties in controlling urine and faeces, other health compl aints, socio-economic background,and social relat ions. Resu lts: Among all respondents 39% reported symptom of UI (more so amongwomen P < 0.001), sympto m of FI in 16.9% (ns between sexes), DI, i.e., a combination of UI and FI,was reported among 14.5% (ns between sexes). Incontinence increased with a ge, and perso ns re port-ing incontinence also had signi¢cantly more of all other health compl aints compared with personswithout incontinence. Those reporting DI comprised an especially vulnerable group. Health com-plaints associated with U I were communicative and mobility problems, other urinary complaints,dizziness, cough, and fati gue. FI was associated with diarrhoea, stomach pain, fatigue, and otherpain. Ris k fa ctors for DI wer e diarrhoea, communication, and mobility problems. Conclu sions: UIand FI were common among elderly men and women and incr eased with age. Furt hermore, incon -tinence was associated with many other co-exis ting health complaints, and the most frail were thosewith DI.