One-fourth of U.S. women may suffer from incontinence

Almost a quarter of all U.S. women may suffer from incontinence or other pelvic disorders that can leave them unable to control leaky bladders, according to the first national study of the conditions.

More than one-third of women ages 60 to 79 and almost half of women 80 and older reported problems that include urinary or fecal incontinence and uterine prolapse, when the uterus drops and pushes against the walls of the vagina, researchers at the University of Utah wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

More than one-fifth of women in the U.S. will be 65 years or older by 2030, the researchers said. As this population grows, health-care costs and decreased quality of life related to leaky bladders and pelvic disorders will be "substantial," the authors wrote.

The researchers looked at 1,961 women age 20 and older who had participated in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, designed to reflect the U.S. population. As part of the survey, the women were interviewed in their homes and given a physical exam.

Overall, 23.7 percent of women had at least one pelvic floor disorder. The most common was urinary incontinence, which affected 15.7 percent of women.

Weight gain increased the problem. About 26 percent of women who were overweight and 30 percent of women who were obese reported at least one pelvic floor disorder, compared with 15 percent of underweight or normal-weight women, the researchers found. The more times a woman had given birth, the more likely she was to have at least one pelvic floor disorder, the study found.