Urinary Incontinence: Bladder Conditions

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Urinary incontinence

In the United States, an estimated 18 million people have daily urinary incontinence, and another 34 million have symptoms of urinary frequency and urgency but manage to get to the toilet before urinating. Because damage sustained during vaginal childbirth is a major cause of incontinence, the problem is much more common in women — estimates go as high as 30% of women ages 15–64. Men are less commonly affected — 1.5% to 5%, according to government estimates. About half of nursing home residents have urinary incontinence. Incontinence is often related to an underlying medical condition such as an enlarged prostate in men, the complications of childbirth in women, medical treatment, or injury.

Incontinence is costly. Americans spend about $19.5 billion on urinary incontinence per year, and an additional $12.6 billion on urinary urgency and frequency. Of that total, most goes toward managing the condition or its complications rather than on diagnosis and treatment. If you are coping with incontinence, you understand all too well the high cost of pads and special absorbent clothing. Add to this the cost of treatment, lost work time, and the emotional toll this condition extracts, and the price is high indeed.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008