Urinary incontinence in the elderly with implications for hospital care consumption and social disability.

837 geriatric patients were investigated on admission and 6 months later. Relatives and other involved persons were interviewed about background factors of importance for the patient's need of care. Every second male and every third female patient was urinary incontinent and it was evident that this was important for admission to hospital. A close relation was found between urinary incontinence and dementia, but the prevalence of somatic diseases was not greater than among continent patients. Six months after admission patients with urinary incontinence had a higher mortality rate or were living in nursing homes to a greater extent than continent patients. The study suggests that in many geriatric patients urinary incontinence is more closely related to general functional impairment than to specific medical conditions of the uro-genital organs and the central nervous system.