title: Urinary incontinence, mental health and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults in Ireland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urinary incontinence (UI) is associated with worse health among older adults. Little is known however, about its relation with loneliness or the role of mental health in this association. This study examined these factors among older adults in Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were analyzed from 6903 community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 50 collected in the first wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) in 2009-11. Information was obtained on the self-reported occurrence (yes/no) and severity (frequency/activity limitations) of UI in the past 12 months. Loneliness was measured using the UCLA Loneliness Scale short form. Information was also obtained on depression (CES-D), anxiety (HADS-A) and other sociodemographic variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a model adjusted for all potential confounders except mental disorders, compared to no UI, any UI was associated with significantly higher odds for loneliness (odds ratio: 1.51). When depression was included in the analysis, the association was attenuated and became non-significant while the inclusion of anxiety had a much smaller effect. Similarly, although frequency of UI and activity limitations due to UI were both significantly associated with loneliness prior to adjustment for mental disorders, neither association remained significant after adjustment for both depression and anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UI is associated with higher odds for loneliness among older community-dwelling adults but this association is largely explained by comorbid mental health problems, in particular, depression.
authors.affiliation: The Stockholm Center for Health and Social Change (SCOHOST), Södertörn University, Huddinge, 141 89, Sweden. amstick66@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stickley
authors.affiliation: The Danish National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Oester Farimagsgade 5A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ziggi Ivan
authors.initials: ZI
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.affiliation: Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu/CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koyanagi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007494:Ireland; D008132:Loneliness; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Lonely; Urinary incontinence