Urinary incontinence in women: Direct costs of routine care.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to estimate the direct costs of routine care for urinary incontinence (UI) in community-dwelling, racially diverse women.


METHODS
In the Reproductive Risks for Incontinence Study at Kaiser population-based study, 528 women with UI weekly or more quantified resources that were used for UI. Routine care costs were calculated with the use of national resource costs ($2005). Potential predictors of these outcomes were examined by multivariable linear regression.


RESULTS
Mean age was 55 +/- 9 (SD) years. Among women with weekly UI, 69% reported incontinence-related costs. Median weekly cost was $1.83 (25%-75% interquartile range [IQR], $0.50, $5.23), increasing from $0.93 (IQR, $0, $3) for moderate to $7.82 (IQR, $5, $37) for very severe incontinence. Costs that increased with incontinence severity (P < .001) and body mass index (P < .001) were 2.2-fold higher for African American versus white women (P < .0001) and 42% higher for women with mixed versus stress incontinence (P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Women pay a mean of >$250 per year out-of-pocket for UI routine care. Effective incontinence treatment may decrease costs.
Subak
Leslee
L
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Van Den Eeden
Stephen
S
Thom
David
D
Creasman
Jennifer M
JM
Brown
Jeanette S
JS
D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy