Risk factors for urinary incontinence in women

Objectives: To review the epidemiological evidence on risk factors for urin ary incontinence (UI) in women. Methods: Using Medline and a manual search we identified the main papers pu blished in English up to 1998. Results: There is consistent evidence that the frequency of UI increases wi th age, but there is little information on the frequency of different types of UI in different age groups. With regard to other risk factors, there is a clinical consensus that vaginal delivery and, more in general, obstetric traumas are associated with UI, although epidemiological studies are not a lways consistent. Less defined is the role of race, menopausal status, hist ory of gynecological surgery, body mass index, smoking, and coffee and alco hol consumption on the risk of UI. Conclusion: in the coming years, epidemiological research should focus part icularly on the potential differences in the epidemiological characteristic s of different types of UI in order to gain insight into the pathogenic mec hanisms. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.