Bacteriuria is associated with urge urinary incontinence in older women

Objective

To investigate the association between bacteriuria and frequency and type of urinary incontinence in elderly people living in the community. Bacteriuria and urinary incontinence are common conditions and often coexisting in this population; the authors have previously reported the prevalence of bacteriuria to be 22.4% in women and 9.4% in men.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

The catchment area of a primary healthcare centre in a Swedish middle-sized town.

Subjects

Residents, except for those in nursing homes, aged 80 and over. Participation rate: 80.3% (431/537).

Main outcome measures

Urinary cultures and questionnaire data on urinary incontinence.

Results

In women the OR for having bacteriuria increased with increasing frequency of urinary incontinence; the OR was 2.83 (95% CI 1.35–5.94) for women who were incontinent daily as compared with continent women. Reporting urge urinary incontinence increased the risk of having bacteriuria: 3.36 (95% CI 1.49–7.58) in comparison with continent women while there was no significant association between stress urinary incontinence and bacteriuria. The prevalence of bacteriuria among men was too low to make any meaningful calculations about the association between bacteriuria and frequency and type of incontinence.

Conclusion

Bacteriuria is associated with more frequent leakage and predominantly with urge urinary incontinence. The causes of this association and their clinical implications remain unclear. There might be some individuals who would benefit from antibiotic treatment, but further studies are warranted.