Abstract
Objective:
to verify the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its relationship with physical and mental health indicators in the elderly population of Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Method:
a cross-sectional population-based study was conducted in 2008 with 1,593 elderly persons. Poisson regression was used for crude and adjusted analysis between the outcomes and the independent variables.
Results:
the prevalence of urinary incontinence was 20.7%, being 26.9% among women and 10.3% among men. The associated factors were female gender, age 70 to 74 and 75 years or over, yellow/brown/indigenous ethnicity/skin color and no schooling. The prevalence of functional disability, depression, cognitive deficit and very poor/poor self-perception of health was significantly higher in women with urinary incontinence. Among incontinent men, the same was observed with regard to functional disability and cognitive deficit.
Conclusion:
the occurrence of urinary incontinence in the elderly is frequent, especially in women, with a significant relationship with physical and mental health conditions in the elderly population. These results support the development of care strategies to prevent incontinence and minimize its health impacts.
Keywords:
Health of the Elderly; Urinary Incontinence; Disabled Persons; Primary Health Care; Epidemiology
