Urinary incontinence in women

Abstract

Urinary incontinence is common in women, but is under-reported and under-treated. Urine storage and emptying is a complex coordination between the bladder and urethra, and disturbances in the system due to childbirth, aging, or other medical conditions can lead to urinary incontinence. The two main types of incontinence in women, stress urinary incontinence and urge urinary incontinence, can be evaluated by history and simple clinical assessment available to most primary care physicians. There is a wide range of therapeutic options, but the recent proliferation of new drug treatments and surgical devices for urinary incontinence have had mixed results; direct-to-consumer advertising has increased public awareness of the problem of urinary incontinence, but many new products are being introduced without long-term assessment of their safety and efficacy.