There’s a Connection Between Obesity and Incontinence

In January, I wrote about the connection between menopause and incontinence and interviewed a physician who specializes in urogynecology about the factors that contribute to incontinence in women.  She attributed the problem in part to weight gain that naturally comes with aging.  The findings of a new study published in the current e-newsletter of the North American Menopause Society supports this. The study investigated obesity as a risk factor for both stress and urge incontinence and the researchers concluded that the higher the BMI (body mass index), the greater the odds of incontinence.  Why does this happen? Here’s their explanation:

The increased intra-abdominal pressure associated with added body fat transmit higher pressures in the bladder, which in turn puts excess stretch and strain on the tissues, nerves and muscles of the pelvic floor such tha the maini continence mechandisms, – urethral support, the urethral sphincter, and the pelvic floor muscles cannot compensate.”

Of the 72 million people in the U.S. that are overweight, the highest prevalence of obesity is among women aged 40-59, an age where urinary incontinence prevalence increases (up to about 45% for monthly or more incontinence episodes), according to this report.  A few studies have evaluated weight loss as a treatment for incontinence and all found an improvement in or resolution of the problem of greater than 50 percent after significant weight loss.