Prevalence and Associated Co-morbid Conditions of Urinary Incontinence in Frail Elderly Males

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) is considered one of the main geriatric giants and it is prevalent in elderly frail males as well as females.
Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated co morbid conditions of UI in frail older males.
Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Ain-Shams Geriatrics Hospital.  About 350 elderly males were screened for being frail using the clinical frailty scale. Among them, 120 frail older males were included in our study, they were screened for the presence of UI, its type, duration and severity using the Arabic version of International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF). All participants were subjected to comprehensive geriatric assessment with assessment of cognition, depression, functional status, past medical history, associated co morbidities and laboratory investigations.
Results: The study participants had a mean age of 72.6 years, prevalence of UI was 50% and mixed UI was the most prevalent type. UI was significantly associated with older age, higher number of comorbidities, depression, functional impairment, pyuria, congestive heart failure, diabetes, osteoarthritis, chronic kidney disease, benign prostatic hyperplasia and chronic constipation, and only congestive heart failure, pyuria and depression were the independent predictors of UI. There was no significant relationship between type of UI and its severity while a significant relationship was between its duration and severity.
Conclusion: UI is one of the geriatric syndromes that commonly exists among frail older males affecting mood, function and quality of life.