Influence of functional, urological, and environmental characteristics on urinary incontinence in community-dwelling older women

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of functional, urological, and environmental characteristics to the frequency of urinary incontinence in 131 community-dwelling older women. Subjects with detrusor instability with or without concomitant genuine stress incontinence had significantly more impaired physical functioning, slower gait speeds, smaller bladder capacities, and less ability to delay voiding than subjects with genuine stress incontinence alone. Age, distance to toilet used most, and toilet-gait speed explained 17% of the variance in incontinence severity. Younger age, slower mobility, and a shorter distance to reach the toilet were associated with a higher frequency of incontinence. Physical functional status and urological characteristics, including urodynamic diagnosis, did not predict incontinence severity. These findings confirm, in part, the commonly held assumption that mobility and the environment influence urinary incontinence.