Harold P. Drutz, MD, FRCS(C) Professor and Head, Section of Urogynecology Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Toronto Mount Sinai Hospital Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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		What is the prevalence of overactive bladder and what age groups are most susceptible?

Jump to bottom of the page I think that the prevalence of urinary incontinence is far greater, I think, than we generally estimate. I think we have to look at it in different age groups, which is very important, and in different environmental settings. In community-dwelling people, in women, the incidence of urinary incontinence from 25- to 65-year-old age group is probably somewhere between 25 and 35% to 40%. In women, 65-year-old community-dwelling women, the incidence of urinary incontinence is probably 35 to 45%, and there's good literature that supports the fact that in institutionalized healthcare population, at least 50% of people have urinary incontinence. And in North America, urinary incontinence is now become the commonest cause of admittance to long-term institutionalized healthcare centers. I think it's also important for physicians to remember that urinary incontinence is not just an entity seen by itself, and in women we certainly find that 1 out of every 7 women who complains of urinary incontinence has some degree of fecal incontinence. And so I think you have to ask about pelvic floor disorder symptoms. One of the reasons that incontinence is underestimated is because, generally speaking, it's a touchy subject for patients. And we published a paper from our own research unit where we did a study on primary healthcare physicians in the province of Ontario. And this study, that was published in the International Urogynecology Journal, essentially showed that if the patient doesn't come to the primary care physician specifically complaining of incontinence, they rarely get asked whether or not they have any urinary or pelvic floor symptoms. In Canada, it's estimated that over 1.2 million people have urinary incontinence. It's also estimated that only 1 out of 12 people will seek medical care for it. But the costs involved in it are astronomical when you consider not only the cost of disposable diapers and protective garments, but up through institutionalized centers where people are taken care of with incontinence. It's estimated that in Canada we currently spend like $1.5 billion annually taking care of incontinence as a healthcare problem.

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