Incontinence and Depression

Urinary incontinence is such a miserable condition that it’s not so surprising that it’s associated with double the normal frequency of depression. Canadian researchers have reported on information from over 70,000 women. Over 15% of those with symptoms of urinary incontinence had depression, compared with 9% in women without incontinence. And those with both problems had many negative effects – stress, more doctor visits, and lost days at work.

It’s possible the actual frequency of incontinence was underestimated. Just asking women if they have incontinence may not be adequate; it’s more common for women to talk of dribbling, leaking, or lack of bladder control. This is being researched in a future study, the investigators say.

Surprisingly, the link to depression was greater in the women under 45 – it was seen in 30% of these women with incontinence. One must assume that these sufferers either received successful treatment for one or both of their complaints, or they just got used to it.