Urinary Incontinence: Medical and Psychosocial Aspects

The view that urinary incontinence is an unfortunate but inevitable concomitant of aging is being dispelled by the growing research effort directed to this condition. Many causes are readily identifiable and reversible. Along with more sophisticated techniques for diagnosing and treating involuntary urine loss comes increasing interest in the epidemiology of the condition and its potential impact on quality of life. The topic of urinary incontinence has become truly multidisciplinary—as evidenced in this review by the addition of psychosocial factors to the medical aspects emphasized in the previous Annual Review chapter (Krane & Siroky, 1981).