New-onset incontinence and markers of frailty: Data from the Hispanic established populations for epidemiologic studies of the elderly

Background. Urinary incontinence in older adults has many distinct etiologi es and is associated with lower self-reported health. However, it is unclea r whether the new onset of urinary incontinence marks newly emergent frailt y. Methods. Using a longitudinal population-based survey of older Mexican Amer icans (N = 2660) across five southwestern states, this study compared the s trength of association between markers of physical frailty such as activiti es of daily living (ADLs), instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and performance (timed walk, timed chair rise, and tandem balance) with ba seline incontinence (prevalent disease) and new-onset incontinence incident disease). Results. We found that 14.1% of the participants (n = 329) were incontinent at baseline (prevalent cases) and 11.6% in = 208) were newly incontinent 2 years later (incident cases). Controlling for other covariates, prevalent incontinence was only associated with a 60% increased risk of having diffic ulty walking 8 ft. Incident incontinence was associated with a twofold incr eased risk of impairment in ADLs and IADLs, and poor performance on all thr ee physical measures. Conclusions. Incident incontinence is associated with an increased risk of more global functional impairment. Thus, incident disease may be an importa nt early marker for signaling the onset of frailty among persons who become incontinent after the age of 65 years.