ACCURACY OF SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR GERIATRIC URINARY-INCONTINENCE

Purpose: Risk factors, natural history, consequences, therapeutic resp onses and costs are all likely related to type of urinary incontinence , for example stress or urge. Yet few epidemiologic type specific data are available and only 1 study has been validated urodynamically. We compare the accuracy of a typical questionnaire used in a large epidem iologic study with the criterion standard of multichannel video urodyn amic testing. Materials and Methods: The questionnaire was administere d before urodynamic testing to 132 subjects 65 years old or older, of whom 80% were women, all were mobile and none was severely demented. R esponses to questionnaire items were compared to the criterion standar d, singly and in combination, using a total of 4 a priori and post hoc strategies, including a computerized regression tree program. Results : Overall, no analytic strategy correctly classified more than 67% of patients and none accurately classified even a single type of incontin ence, including stress incontinence. Conclusions: Short questionnaires commonly used in epidemiologic studies correlated poorly with video u rodynamic testing in incontinent older adults. Previously published in formation regarding prevalence of the types of incontinence should be reviewed in the light of these data.