title: Epidemiology of urinary incontinence in women.
abstract: In this paper, the current knowledge and recent literature on the epidemiology of urinary incontinence are examined. The populations discussed include community-dwelling women and institutionalized women. This review includes discussions of the prevalence of urinary incontinence with age, the prevalence of the types and severity of urinary incontinence, the variations with racial and ethnic differences, and the risk factors proposed for urinary incontinence. The theories behind the currently recognized risk factors and the recent literature supporting or refuting them are analyzed. Because of an abundance of studies, only a small fraction is represented in this paper, but we attempted to emphasize high-quality and larger population studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9032, USA. Mikio.nihira@utsouthwestern.edu
authors.forename: Mikio A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nihira
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017770:Lifting / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016387:Women's Health