Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence
The loss of bladder control

• Incontinence may be temporary or a continuing problem.
• It affects people of all ages and both sexes – with people over age 50 representing the greatest percentage of those effected.
• Estimates of affected people run from 13 to 20 million people in the u.s. many people silently suffer from this disease and seek no medical attention so an exact figure is difficult to establish. Urologists tell us that for every person complaining of incontinence problems, there are 4 to 5 more that have a problem.
• With the aging of america’s population, it is expected that the market for incontinence products will grow at over 9% per year for the next 10 years.

Incontinence facts

• Urinary incontinence (UI) effects approximately 13 million americans in community and institutional settings. (1)


• Urinary incontinence plagues 10-35% of adults and at least half of the 1.5 million nursing home residents in the U.S. (1)
• Although the prevalence of UI increases with age, it should not be considered a normal part of the aging process. (1)
• Among the population between 15 and 64 years of age, the prevalence of ui ranges from 1.5 to 5% in men and in women from 10-30%. (1)
• For non institutionalized persons older than 60 years of age the prevalence of ui ranges from 15-35% with women having twice the prevalence of men. (1)
• The vast majority of sufferers experience only nominal levels of incontinence, while less than 10% suffer from heavy incontinence. (2)

(1) U.S. department of health and human services, "clinical practice guieline"
(2) Frost & sullivan, "U.S. incontinence and ostomy products market"