[Prevalence of urinary incontinence in Catalonia, Spain].

Background And Objective: To study the prevalence and severity of urinary incontinence (IU) in the population of Catalonia.

Design: Descriptive and cross-sectional study.

Patients And Method: Sample of 18.126 individuals, representative of the population of Catalonia, not institutionalized. 15.926 of them were older than 15 years and answered the Survey of Health of Catalonia (ESCA). Two questions about frequency and quantity of leakages of urine were added to the ESCA, a health questionnaire with 197 questions. Questions about UI were the Spanish version of Incontinence Severity Index (ISI).

Results: In Catalonia (Spain) 7.9% of the population (more than 500.000 persons) had symptoms of IU, corresponding to 12.2% of the women and 3.6% of the men. 77.8% of the total population with UI symptoms were women. The prevalence increased with age in both sexes. 12% of women with an age between the 45-64-years, 26.6% between 65-74 years and 41.8% with 75 years or more, had UI symptoms. Symptoms of UI were present in only 2.8% of the men between 45-64 years , 10.2% between 65-74 years and 22.7% of those of 75 years or more.

Conclusions: A high prevalence of IU was found in the population of Catalonia. In two thirds of individuals with IU, their symptoms were moderate to severe. Severity of UI increases with age in men and women. Overall, symptoms of UI are 3 times more prevalent in women than in men.