Two-year incidence, remission, and change patterns of urinary incontinence in noninstitutionalized older adults
Article Abstract:
Urinary incontinence (involuntary loss of urine) is common among older people, even those who are not institutionalized. It occurs in 37.7 percent of women and 18.9 percent of men. There are two types of urinary incontinence, stress incontinence and urge incontinence. Stress incontinence describes that kind of involuntary urine loss that occurs when a person sneezes, laughs, coughs, or picks up something heavy; urge incontinence refers to having to void and not getting to the bathroom fast enough, or uncontrollable voiding with little or no warning. People may suffer from both kinds of incontinence at once. Stress incontinence, alone or in combination with urge incontinence, predominates among women; men are more likely to have urge incontinence. It was once thought that incontinence, regardless of type, was chronic, but that may be because most studies were done involving patients in nursing homes. But stress incontinence in women may result from poor muscle tone in the pelvis, which can be treated by simple exercises or surgery. Urge incontinence in men and women can be caused by infection or bowel dysfunction or, in men, prostate disease. Here again, treatment is available. Moreover, incontinence may come and go, and may be described as mild, moderate or severe. There is no proof that incontinence is progressive; but once incontinence becomes severe, it tends to stay that way. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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Functional disability of elderly patients with long-term coronary heart disease: a sex-stratified analysis
Article Abstract:
Angina pectoris is spasmodic chest pain in response to a lack of oxygen in the heart muscle. It is a common aftereffect of myocardial infarction (heart attack) in men, but in women more often occurs as a self-standing entity. The number of elderly women with angina who survive their illness has markedly increased recently. No one is quite sure why women with angina are living longer. If the trend continues, the prevalence of heart disease in older women will exceed that of older men, since women tend to live longer than men, and the incidence of heart disease in women increases with age. These facts may have serious implications for the health and medical care field, because women are more likely to be unable to function in the face of chronic disease. Moreover, heart disease in women is disabling, no matter the age at which it occurs. Added to that is the fact that women with angina are 1.8 to 3.7 times more likely to be disabled than are women with other forms of heart disease. It seems, however, that there are predictors for whether a woman with heart disease will be functional or not. Diabetic women with heart disease have a 1.8-fold higher risk of becoming disabled over women with heart disease but no diabetes. The factors that predict the prognosis for men with heart disease are not as accurate for women, thus studies for predictors in women are needed. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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