Self-reported social and emotional impact of urinary incontinence.
OBJECTIVE
Incontinence-specific and generic measures of well-being were regressed on potential predictors to identify incontinent respondents at risk for psychosocial distress and to understand the relationship between urinary incontinence (UI) and other determinants of social and emotional status.


METHODS
Survey data were collected May 1994 through April 1996.


METHODS
Telephone interviews as a supplement to a nationally representative monthly consumer survey.


METHODS
Analyses were based on 1,116 continent and 206 incontinent respondents age 40 and older.


METHODS
Incontinent respondents self-reported the extent to which urine loss restricted social activities or affected their feelings about themselves. All respondents were asked whether they felt depressed, lonely, or sad. Covariates included sex, age, race, education, social desirability, health status, frequency of urine loss, quantity of loss, and urgency.


RESULTS
The majority of incontinent respondents reported that urine loss did not restrict activities or diminish self-esteem. Incontinent respondents who were younger, male, less educated, lower in social desirability, in poorer health, or losing greater quantities of urine were more likely to report psychosocial distress, although these correlates were not consistently significant. Compared with continent respondents, significantly higher percentages of incontinent respondents reported feeling depressed, lonely, or sad. In the multivariate models, incontinence retained an independent association with loneliness, but not with sadness or depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Even though the direct psychosocial impact of urine loss may be minor in many cases, UI is associated with a constellation of physical and behavioral factors that can impose a social and emotional burden. This suggests that UI cannot be adequately evaluated or treated without consideration of the patient's overall quality of life.
Fultz
N H
NH
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1248, USA.
Herzog
A R
AR
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012928:Social Desirability; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*