Urinary Incontinence in Older Women Raises Depression Risk

Older women with urinary incontinence may be at increased risk for depression and work disability, according to research published inObstetrics & Gynecology.

Kristin J. Hung, M.D., of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues analyzed data for 4,511 women, aged 54 to 65 years at baseline in 1996, from the Health and Retirement Study cohort to assess urinary incontinence and its association with probable depression, work disability, and workforce exit. The women were interviewed every two years until 2010 to 2011.

The researchers found that women with urinary incontinence were at increased risk for probable depression (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.27 to 1.62) and work disability (adjusted HR, 1.21; 95 percent CI, 1.01 to 1.45). The association between urinary incontinence and workforce exit was not significant (adjusted HR, 1.06; 95 percent CI, 0.93 to 1.21).

"In a population-based cohort of women between ages 54 and 65 years, urinary incontinence was associated with increased risks for probable depression and work disability," the authors write. "Improved diagnosis and management of urinary incontinence may yield significant economic and psychosocial benefits."

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