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The Relationship Between Urinary Incontinence, Mobility Limitations, and Disability in Older Women

  • Geriatric Urology (H Richter, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Geriatrics Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper describes current understanding and the relationship between urinary incontinence (UI), mobility limitations, and disability in older women with pelvic floor disorders.

Recent Findings

UI is a prevalent pelvic floor disorder in older women and is considered to be one of the most common geriatric problems. There is no clear classification of UI as a disease versus UI as a geriatric syndrome in the current literature. Since the disability is also prevalent in older women, an evaluation of the relationship between UI and disability may improve our understanding of UI as a disease or a geriatric syndrome. This relationship may be classified through different pathways. Some evidence suggests that mobility disabilities and UI in older women may have bidirectional pathophysiologic mechanisms through generalized muscle dysfunction.

Summary

Expanding research on the mechanisms of UI, mobility limitations, and disability in older women as well as their associations will enhance our insight into clinical, pharmacological, environmental, behavioral, and rehabilitative interventions. It will also lead to improved measures for UI prevention and treatment in older women. Thus, understanding UI, mobility limitations, and disability can have substantial implications for both clinical work and research in this area.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, 22 S. Greene Street, Suite S3AX24, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Tatiana V. Sanses

  2. Urogynecology Center for Women, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Florida Hospital, Orlando, FL, USA

    Bela Kudish

  3. Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Jack M. Guralnik

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  1. Tatiana V. Sanses
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Correspondence to Tatiana V. Sanses.

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Conflict of Interest

Bela Kudish and Jack Guralnik declare no conflict of interest.

Tatiana Sanses reports grants from the National Institute on Aging, the Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the University of Maryland Pepper Center.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Geriatric Urology

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Sanses, T.V., Kudish, B. & Guralnik, J.M. The Relationship Between Urinary Incontinence, Mobility Limitations, and Disability in Older Women. Curr Geri Rep 6, 74–80 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-017-0202-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-017-0202-4

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