Urinary, fecal, and dual incontinence in older U.S. Adults.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of urinary (UI), fecal (FI), and dual incontinence (DI) and to identify shared factors associated with each type of incontinence in older U.S. women and men.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional study.


METHODS
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2005-2010).


METHODS
Women and men aged 50 and older.


METHODS
UI was defined as moderate to severe (≥3 on a validated UI severity index, range 0-12); FI was at least monthly loss of solid, liquid, or mucus stool; and DI was the presence of UI and FI.


RESULTS
Women were more likely than men to report UI only and DI but not FI only (UI only, women 19.8%, men 6.4%; FI only, women 8.2%, men 8.4%; DI women, 6.0%, men 1.9%). In both sexes, prevalence increased with age. In regression models adjusted for parity and hysterectomy, DI in women was associated with non-Hispanic white race (odds ratio (OR)=2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.5-3.4), depression (OR=4.7, 95% CI=2.0-11.1), comorbidities (OR=4.3, 95% CI=1.9-9.6 for ≥3 comorbidities vs none), hysterectomy (OR=1.8, 95% CI=1.2-2.7), and diarrhea (OR=2.8, 95% CI=1.5-5.0). In men, ADL impairment (OR=2.4, 95% CI=1.2-4.9) and poorer self-rated health (OR=2.8, 95% CI=1.5-5.30) were associated with DI.


CONCLUSIONS
UI, FI, and DI are common in older women and men. Factors associated with DI were distinct from those associated with UI and FI. There were also differences according to sex, with DI associated with depression and comorbid diseases in women and lack of functional ability and poorer self-rated health in men.
Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.|Center of Aging and Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Jennifer M
JM
Wu
Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Catherine A
CA
Matthews
Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Birmingham Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama.|Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Camille P
CP
Vaughan
Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Birmingham Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Birmingham, Alabama.|Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Alayne D
AD
Markland
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005242:Fecal Incontinence / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*
dual incontinence; fecal incontinence; older adults; urinary incontinence