Causes of urinary incontinence in the elderly

There are many reasons for urinary incontinence in the elderly, but some of them are related to their living habits and diet. Urinary incontinence in the elderly is a common disease among the elderly, and the incidence of this disease in the elderly is relatively high. In fact, there is not much difference between urinary incontinence in the elderly and that in the general population. The most common symptom is the involuntary flow of urine, which cannot be controlled.

There are many treatments for urinary incontinence in the elderly, and there are many plans in hospitals that are specifically designed for urinary incontinence in the elderly. Therefore, these plans generally have good effects on the treatment of urinary incontinence in the elderly, but many times the effect is not obvious. Therefore, in order to better treat it, let’s first understand the causes of urinary incontinence in the elderly.

Urinary incontinence in the elderly means that urine in the bladder cannot be controlled and flows out on its own. Urinary incontinence can occur in patients of all age groups, but it is more common in elderly patients. Because urinary incontinence is more common in the elderly, people mistakenly believe that urinary incontinence is an inevitable natural consequence of the aging process. In fact, there are many reasons for urinary incontinence in the elderly, many of which can be controlled or avoided. Urinary incontinence is not a normal manifestation of aging, nor is it irreversible. Various causes should be sought and reasonable treatments should be adopted.

Causes of urinary incontinence in the elderly include:

1. Neurogenic bladder caused by central nervous system diseases such as cerebrovascular accident, brain atrophy, brain and spinal cord tumors, lateral sclerosis, etc.

2. Surgery such as prostatectomy, bladder neck surgery, radical resection of rectal cancer, radical resection of cervical cancer, abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, etc. that damage the motor or sensory nerves of the bladder and sphincter

3. Urinary retention Urinary retention caused by prostatic hyperplasia, bladder neck contracture, urethral stenosis, etc.

4. Unstable bladder. Bladder tumors, stones, inflammation, foreign bodies, etc. can cause unstable bladder.

5. Estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women causes decreased tension in the urethral wall and pelvic floor muscles

6. Weakened sphincter function caused by childbirth injury, uterine prolapse, cystocele, etc.

Clinical manifestations

1. Urge urinary incontinence

This type of incontinence includes bladder instability, detrusor hyperreflexia, bladder spasm, and neurogenic bladder (uninhibited bladder), where the incontinence is related to uncontrolled detrusor contractions.

2. Stress urinary incontinence

Involuntary urine leakage occurs when the intra-abdominal pressure rises sharply during body movements such as coughing, sneezing, jolts or lifting heavy objects. Urinary incontinence occurs when the intra-bladder pressure rises above the urethral resistance without detrusor contraction. The defect in stress urinary incontinence is in the bladder outflow tract (sphincter dysfunction), which results in insufficient urethral resistance to prevent urine leakage.

3. Overflow incontinence

Overflow incontinence occurs when the pressure of a chronically filled bladder exceeds urethral resistance. The cause may be a tone-less (uncontractable) bladder or functional or mechanical obstruction of the bladder outlet tract. A tone-less bladder is often caused by spinal cord trauma or diabetes. Bladder outlet obstruction in elderly patients is often caused by fecal impaction. About 50% of constipated patients have urinary incontinence. Other causes of outlet obstruction include prostate hyperplasia, prostate cancer, and bladder sphincter dysfunction. Some individual cases are caused by psychogenic urinary retention.

4. Functional urinary incontinence

The patient can feel that the bladder is full, but due to physical movement, mental state and environmental reasons, he cannot help but urinate or urinate intentionally.

As mentioned above, there are indeed many reasons for urinary incontinence in the elderly, and some of them are aspects that we ordinary people would not think of. In fact, understanding the causes of urinary incontinence in the elderly will be beneficial to the future treatment of urinary incontinence in the elderly. At least it can help doctors provide more comprehensive treatment for elderly patients with urinary incontinence.