Association between physical activity and urinary incontinence in a community-based elderly population aged 70 years and over.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between physical activity (PA) levels and urinary incontinence (UI) in a community-based elderly population aged > or =70 yr.


METHODS
This population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2003 using an extensive health interview for each participant. A self-reported single-item questionnaire was used to estimate different levels of PA in each subject. The prevalence of UI was estimated by the self-administered International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire. The study population included 676 Japanese men and women.


RESULTS
The prevalence of UI was 25% (34% in women and 16% in men). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of UI compared with the lowest PA group was 0.71 (0.47-1.09) and 0.58 (0.35-0.96) in subjects exhibiting middle and high levels of PA, respectively (p for trend = 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
High PA level was independently related to a lower self-reported prevalence of UI in a community-dwelling elderly population aged > or =70 yr. Although this cross-sectional study cannot demonstrate a temporal relationship between PA and the onset of UI, the findings suggest that PA may have a potentially beneficial effect on the prevention of UI. A prospective study or randomized trials are required to clarify the causality.
Kikuchi
Akio
A
Department of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Niu
Kaijun
K
Ikeda
Yoshihiro
Y
Hozawa
Atsushi
A
Nakagawa
Haruo
H
Guo
Hui
H
Ohmori-Matsuda
Kaori
K
Yang
Guang
G
Farmawati
Arta
A
Sami
Ashkan
A
Arai
Yoichi
Y
Tsuji
Ichiro
I
Nagatomi
Ryoichi
R
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*