The economic impact of urinary incontinence.

This article provides a conceptual framework for estimating the economic impact of urinary incontinence on the society. Using this framework, the cost of urinary incontinence is estimated to be about $8 billion annually: $2 billion for nursing homes and $6 billion for the community setting. Because of a lack of reliable epidemiologic and health care utilization data, these estimates should be considered primarily illustrative. They do, however, underline the potential economic benefits to the society of reducing the incidence of urinary incontinence among the elderly.