Science / Medicine : Incontinence Not Limited

Contrary to widespread belief, incontinence apparently is not caused by simply being old, demented or weak but stems from more complex problems than previously thought, researchers said last week.

“It’s an enormous problem,” said Dr. Neil Resnick , chief of geriatrics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who headed a study of 605 institutionalized elderly people, 40% of whom suffered from incontinence.

Older patients, those suffering from dementia or those unable to get to the bathroom on their own because of physical problems, were no more likely than younger, non-demented and uninfirm patients to suffer from incontinence, the researchers found.

Instead, the researchers found the most common cause of incontinence was a previously undescribed condition in which patients were unable to control their bladders and the bladders did not empty completely, meaning urine spilled out of them more often, Resnick said.