The Relationship Between Urinary Incontinence, Mortality, and Frailty: Insights From a Large Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to explore the relationship between urinary incontinence (UI) and mortality in women, with a focus on the potential role of frailty and variations across UI subtypes.

METHODS

We analyzed 8967 women aged 40 and above who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between urge UI (UUI), stress UI (SUI), other UI (OUI) and all-cause mortality. These models were adjusted for demographic variables and frailty scores.

RESULTS

Approximately 45.8% of participants reported UI in the past year. Initial analysis showed a significant association between UI and increased mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.478, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.317-1.657, p < 0.001), persisting after controlling for frailty (HR = 1.151, 95% CI 1.022-1.297, p = 0.021). However, after adjusting for frailty and demographic factors, this association became non-significant.

CONCLUSION

Women with UI exhibited a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality, but this association did not hold after accounting for both key demographics and frailty.