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Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly

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Female Urinary Incontinence

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Abstract

Urinary incontinence (UI) is highly prevalent among elderly women and can negatively impact their quality of life. While the same treatment options for urgency and stress incontinence may be available to elderly women, there are additional, both physiologic and functional, factors to be considered when deciding on the treatment. Elderly women are more likely to be frail, have concomitant pelvic floor disorders, and have additional comorbidities compared with a younger population. Additionally, they may have caregivers, which should also be considered in the treatment algorithm. It is imperative to consider these unique issues to ensure the best possible outcomes with the underlying goal being improvement in their quality of life. In this chapter, we review factors contributing to urinary incontinence in elderly women and treatment considerations specific to this population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Casey G. Kowalik

  2. Institute of Urology, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, MA, USA

    Lara S. MacLachlan

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  1. Casey G. Kowalik
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  2. Lara S. MacLachlan
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Correspondence to Casey G. Kowalik .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Anne P. Cameron

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Kowalik, C.G., MacLachlan, L.S. (2022). Urinary Incontinence in the Elderly. In: Cameron, A.P. (eds) Female Urinary Incontinence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84352-6_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84352-6_25

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