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. 2010 Jan 6:10:2.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2466-10-2.

Breathlessness is associated with urinary incontinence in men: A community-based study

Fumi Hirayama  1 , Andy H Lee, Tetsuo Hiramatsu, Yoshimasa Tanikawa
Affiliations

Breathlessness is associated with urinary incontinence in men: A community-based study

Fumi Hirayama et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing problem for older people. To investigate the relationship between UI and respiratory symptoms among middle-aged and older men, a community-based study was conducted in Japan.

Methods: A convenience sample of 668 community-dwelling men aged 40 years or above was recruited from middle and southern Japan. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, the Medical Research Council's dyspnoea scale and the Australian Lung Foundation's Feeling Short of Breath scale, were administered by face-to-face interviews to ascertain their UI status and respiratory symptoms.

Results: The overall prevalence of UI was 7.6%, with urge-type leakage (59%) being most common among the 51 incontinent men. The presence of respiratory symptoms was significantly higher among incontinent men than those without the condition, especially for breathlessness (45% versus 30%, p = 0.025). The odds of UI for breathlessness was 2.11 (95% confidence interval 1.10-4.06) after accounting for age, body mass index, smoking and alcohol drinking status of each individual.

Conclusions: The findings suggested a significant association between UI and breathlessness in middle-aged and older men.

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