[Urinary incontinence and senile dementia. The relationship between the severity of dementia and the potential for treatment of the urinary incontinence].

The occurrence of urinary incontinence was traced of 1077 patients, admitted to the geriatric department from 1978 through 1986 and was observed in 444 patients (41.3%), in women a little more frequent than in men (respectively 43.5% and 35.2%). In cases of people being psychiatrically ill incontinence was more frequent than in somatic cases. The percentages are respectively 45.1% and 38.0%. Among patients with dementia those SDAT did not show a higher prevalence of urinary incontinence than those with other types of dementia. Treatment (bladder-training, in 50% of the patients combined with medication) proved to be successful in 54.4% of all patients, for the group of somatically ill patients not significantly better than for the psychiatric patients (respectively 58% and 50.1%). Patients with SDAT showed better results (50% versus 32.1%) than cases of other types of dementia. The results of treatment in patients in the amnestic stage were 2.5 times better (65.9%) than in patients with more advanced stages of senile dementia (25.9%).