Association between Physical Activity and Urinary Incontinence in a Community-Based Elderly Population Aged 70 Years and Over

• Published in: European urology Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 868 - 875
• Main Authors: Kikuchi, Akio, Niu, Kaijun, Ikeda, Yoshihiro, Hozawa, Atsushi, Nakagawa, Haruo, Guo, Hui, Ohmori-Matsuda, Kaori, Yang, Guang, Farmawati, Arta, Sami, Ashkan, Arai, Yoichi, Tsuji, Ichiro, Nagatomi, Ryoichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 01.09.2007
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Motor Activity - physiology; Population Surveillance; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Distribution; Urinary Incontinence - epidemiology; Urinary Incontinence - physiopathology; Urology; Japan; Urinary incontinence; Physical activity; International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire
• ISSN: 0302-2838; 1873-7560
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2007.03.041

Abstract Objectives The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between physical activity (PA) levels and urinary incontinence (UI) in a community-based elderly population aged ≥70 yr. Methods This population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2003 using an extensive health interview for each participant. A self-reported single-item questionnaire was used to estimate different levels of PA in each subject. The prevalence of UI was estimated by the self-administered International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire. The study population included 676 Japanese men and women. Results The prevalence of UI was 25% (34% in women and 16% in men). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of UI compared with the lowest PA group was 0.71 (0.47–1.09) and 0.58 (0.35–0.96) in subjects exhibiting middle and high levels of PA, respectively ( p for trend = 0.02). Conclusions High PA level was independently related to a lower self-reported prevalence of UI in a community-dwelling elderly population aged ≥70 yr. Although this cross-sectional study cannot demonstrate a temporal relationship between PA and the onset of UI, the findings suggest that PA may have a potentially beneficial effect on the prevention of UI. A prospective study or randomized trials are required to clarify the causality.