title: Prevalence of and attitude toward urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the prevalence of urinary incontinence, and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Taiwanese women aged 60 years or older.
  
  
  METHODS
  A nationwide epidemiological study was conducted and a sample of 2410 women was selected. Personal visits to 1517 women were completed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 485 (29.8%) women reported urinary incontinence; 250 (69.9%) urinary incontinent women experienced symptoms less than once a month. Regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices, 822 (54.3%) of the women surveyed knew the meaning of urinary incontinence, and 147 (30.3%) with urinary incontinence had visited a doctor. The main reason given for not seeking medical help was shyness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although urinary incontinence is a common symptom, it is often not reported to doctors, which leads to undertreatment. From a public health perspective, there is considerable opportunity to improve women's quality of life by increasing health education about urinary incontinence and its treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Tsung-Hsien
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Shao-Tung
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Shu-Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Meng-Chih
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mei Yu
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D015995:Prevalence; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy