Breathlessness is associated with urinary incontinence in men: A community-based study.
BACKGROUND
Urinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing problem for older people. To investigate the relationship between UI and respiratory symptoms among middle-aged and older men, a community-based study was conducted in Japan.


METHODS
A convenience sample of 668 community-dwelling men aged 40 years or above was recruited from middle and southern Japan. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, the Medical Research Council's dyspnoea scale and the Australian Lung Foundation's Feeling Short of Breath scale, were administered by face-to-face interviews to ascertain their UI status and respiratory symptoms.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of UI was 7.6%, with urge-type leakage (59%) being most common among the 51 incontinent men. The presence of respiratory symptoms was significantly higher among incontinent men than those without the condition, especially for breathlessness (45% versus 30%, p = 0.025). The odds of UI for breathlessness was 2.11 (95% confidence interval 1.10-4.06) after accounting for age, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status of each individual.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggested a significant association between UI and breathlessness in middle-aged and older men.
Hirayama
Fumi
F
School of Public Health, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia.
Lee
Andy H
AH
Hiramatsu
Tetsuo
T
Tanikawa
Yoshimasa
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D053202:Urinary Incontinence, Urge / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control