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Incontinence linked to depression

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With RUOK Week (Sept 8 – 12) upon us, young women need to be made aware that incontinence puts them at a higher risk of depression.

On the surface, bladder leakage in young women seems a trivial matter, but if it restricts their ability to take part in normal everyday activities, it can have much more serious consequences.

Research last year from the University of Adelaide (Avery et al. 2013) found that younger women’s mental health was often hit hard by urinary incontinence, while older women tended to be more resilient and accepting of the condition. These results support the findings of a Norwegian study one year earlier (Felde . 2012), which showed that urinary incontinence was associated with high levels of depression and anxiety in women aged 40–44 years.

This finding that younger women struggled more than older women, according to author Jodie Avery, might be due to the (mistaken) assumption that incontinence was an older woman’s condition.

She found that key issues for younger women affected by incontinence were family, sexual relationships, sport and leisure activities.

Despite common beliefs, more than half the women in Australia living with incontinence are under 50 years of age. Incontinence, one of Australia’s biggest health issues, is more prevalent than asthma (2 million), anxiety disorders (2.3 million) and arthritis (3.1 million), with 4.8 million, or one in four Australians over the age of 15, affected. (Deloitte, 2011).

According to Ms Avery’s s study, 20% of the incontinent population had depression, much higher than the rest of the population (estimated at between 0.8 and 9.6% by the World Health Organisation).


Like depression, there is still a stigma attached to incontinence, with only about 70% of people affected seeking professional help – this, despite the fact that incontinence is preventable and easily treated in most cases.

Health promotion officer with the Continence Foundation of Australia Samantha Scoble said there was much that could be done to prevent and manage incontinence.

“When you consider it can impact a person psychologically as well as physically, it’s even more important people acquire good bladder and bowel health practices,” she said.

In the majority of cases, preventing incontinence was simply a case of protecting the pelvic floor. “

Avoid activities that stretch your pelvic floor or force you to push down on it – like heavy lifting, high impact sports, straining on the toilet due to constipation, chronic coughing or gaining excessive weight. “

And of course, doing your pelvic floor exercises every day will strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which, like any other muscles, can be made stronger with regular exercise,” Ms Scoble said.

She also acknowledged the important role exercise played in general health and wellbeing, and directed readers to the pelvicfloorfirst.org.au website, which provides information on pelvic floor-safe exercises.


The Continence Foundation has also developed two free apps, Pelvic Floor First and the Pelvic floor awareness in pregnancy, along with numerous other free downloadable resources.

Sometimes conservative measures aren’t enough to manage more severe cases of incontinence, and help is available through the Continence Foundation’s National Continence Helpline.

Anyone with incontinence issues can phone the free, confidential Helpline (1800 33 00 66), which is staffed by continence health nurses who provide advice, information and referrals to the public and health professionals. Go to continence.org.au for more information.

Fast facts

• In 2010, nearly 4.8 million Australians – comprising more than a quarter of the Australian population aged 15 years or over– were living with incontinence.

• This figure comprises 4,626,624 million community-dwelling Australians (aged 15 years or over) and 128,473 people living in residential aged care (aged 60 years or over).

• Of those in the community, 4.2 million people experience urinary incontinence, and 1.3 million people experience faecal incontinence.


• By 2030 the prevalence is estimated to increase to 6.5 million Australians (with urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence or both) – equating to 27% of the population aged 15 years and above.

• Incontinence affects both men and women – regardless of their age, gender or cultural background.

• Women are more likely to be incontinent than men – with the life stages of pregnancy and menopause a major contributing factor.

• Despite common belief, more than half of the women living in the community with incontinence are under 50 years of age (1.7 million).

• Incontinence is more prevalent than asthma (more than 2 million), anxiety disorders (2.3 million) and arthritis (3.1 million).

• In 2010, the total financial cost of incontinence was estimated to be $42.9 billion – or $66.7 billion including the cost of burden of disease.

• In 2010, the estimated cost of residential aged care was $1.6 billion.

• In 2010, the total productivity loss due to incontinence was $34.1 billion.

• In 2010, the opportunity cost of informal (unpaid) care provided by loved ones to those with incontinence was estimated to be $2.7 billion.

Information based on Deloitte Access Economics The economic impact of incontinence in Australia 2011, commissioned by the Continence Foundation of Australia. For the full report go to www.continence.org.au

(Source: Continence Foundation of Australia)


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Dates

Posted On: 8 September, 2014
Modified On: 7 September, 2014

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