Urinary incontinence, its influence on daily life, and use of continence aids in two cohorts of 85/86-year-old free-living men and women, born 10 years apart.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of urinary incontinence and other urinary tract symptoms, the use of incontinence aids and how urinary incontinence influences daily life in two 85/86-year-old cohorts born 10 years apart. There were no statistically significant differences between the two cohorts except for the use of incontinence aids, where 23% of women born in 1901/1902 and 42% of women born in 1911/1912 used aids (P=0.002). In this study, urinary incontinence was common among 85/86-year-old men and women but there were no significant differences except for the more frequent use of incontinence aids among women born in 1911/1912 than among women born in 1901/1902. The reason for this difference regarding use of incontinence aids among women could be that taboos are gradually lifting in many cultures, for example in Sweden, but so far mostly for women.