Health Reports, October 2013
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2013-10-16
Study: Urinary incontinence and loneliness in Canadian Seniors
About one in eight Canadians aged 65 or older suffered from urinary incontinence in 2008/2009, a condition that can have negative impacts on their quality of life, including loneliness. Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine.
A new study, released in the October 2013 edition of Health Reports, uses data from the 2008/2009 Canadian Community Health Survey – Healthy Aging to examine the prevalence of urinary incontinence among seniors. An estimated 512,000 seniors, about 12% of the population aged 65 or older, reported urinary incontinence. Women were more likely than men to have the condition (14% versus 9%), and older seniors aged 85 or older were also more prone to urinary incontinence.
The study also looked at loneliness and its links to urinary incontinence. Overall, the odds of being lonely were markedly higher for seniors who reported urinary incontinence, than for those who did not, regardless of age, sex, education or living arrangements.
About 1.4 million seniors (25% of men and 40% of women) reported feelings of loneliness "often" or "some of the time." Those with urinary incontinence were significantly more likely to self-identify in the loneliness category. About 34% of men and 53% of women with urinary incontinence reported being lonely, compared with 24% and 38% of men and women who did not have urinary incontinence.
The article "Urinary incontinence and loneliness in Canadian seniors" in the October 2013 issue of Health Reports, Vol. 24, no. 10 (Catalogue number82-003-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website, under Publications. For more information on this article, contact Heather Gilmour (613-951-2114; heather.gilmour@statcan.gc.ca), Health Analysis Division.
Also released today is "Development of a population-based microsimulation mode of physical activity in Canada." For more information on this article, contact Claude Nadeau (613-951-5510; claude.nadeau@statacan.gc.ca), Health Analysis Division.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).
For information about Health Reports, contact Janice Felman (613-951-6446; janice.felman@statcan.gc.ca), Health Analysis Division.
- Date modified: