Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

<h4>Background</h4>The association between urinary incontinence (UI) and increased mortality remains controversial. The objective of our study was to evaluate if this association exists.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studie...

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Main Authors: Gregor John, Claire Bardini, Christophe Combescure, Patrick Dällenbach
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158992
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author Gregor John
Claire Bardini
Christophe Combescure
Patrick Dällenbach
author_facet Gregor John
Claire Bardini
Christophe Combescure
Patrick Dällenbach
author_sort Gregor John
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>The association between urinary incontinence (UI) and increased mortality remains controversial. The objective of our study was to evaluate if this association exists.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies comparing death rates among patients suffering from UI to those without incontinence. We searched in Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library using specific keywords. Studies exploring the post-stroke period were excluded. Hazard ratios (HR) were pooled using models with random effects. We stratified UI by gender and by UI severity and pooled all models with adjustment for confounding variables.<h4>Results</h4>Thirty-eight studies were retrieved. When compared to non-urinary incontinent participants, UI was associated with an increase in mortality with pooled non adjusted HR of 2.22 (95%CI 1.77-2.78). The risk increased with UI severity: 1.24 (95%CI: 0.79-1.97) for light, 1.71 (95%CI: 1.26-2.31) for moderate, and 2.72 (95%CI: 1.90-3.87) for severe UI respectively. When pooling adjusted measures of association, the resulting HR was 1.27 (95%CI: 1.13-1.42) and increased progressively for light, moderate and severe UI: 1.07 (95%CI: 0.79-1.44), 1.25 (95%CI: 0.99-1.58), and 1.47 (95%CI: 1.03-2.10) respectively. There was no difference between genders.<h4>Conclusion</h4>UI is a predictor of higher mortality in the general and particularly in the geriatric population. The association increases with the severity of UI and persists when pooling models adjusted for confounders. It is unclear if this association is causative or just reflects an impaired general health condition. As in most meta-analyses of observational studies, methodological issues should be considered when interpreting results.
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spelling doaj-art-13da973c3e7149ed81e12cf1b2c63b092025-08-20T03:15:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01117e015899210.1371/journal.pone.0158992Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Gregor JohnClaire BardiniChristophe CombescurePatrick Dällenbach<h4>Background</h4>The association between urinary incontinence (UI) and increased mortality remains controversial. The objective of our study was to evaluate if this association exists.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies comparing death rates among patients suffering from UI to those without incontinence. We searched in Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library using specific keywords. Studies exploring the post-stroke period were excluded. Hazard ratios (HR) were pooled using models with random effects. We stratified UI by gender and by UI severity and pooled all models with adjustment for confounding variables.<h4>Results</h4>Thirty-eight studies were retrieved. When compared to non-urinary incontinent participants, UI was associated with an increase in mortality with pooled non adjusted HR of 2.22 (95%CI 1.77-2.78). The risk increased with UI severity: 1.24 (95%CI: 0.79-1.97) for light, 1.71 (95%CI: 1.26-2.31) for moderate, and 2.72 (95%CI: 1.90-3.87) for severe UI respectively. When pooling adjusted measures of association, the resulting HR was 1.27 (95%CI: 1.13-1.42) and increased progressively for light, moderate and severe UI: 1.07 (95%CI: 0.79-1.44), 1.25 (95%CI: 0.99-1.58), and 1.47 (95%CI: 1.03-2.10) respectively. There was no difference between genders.<h4>Conclusion</h4>UI is a predictor of higher mortality in the general and particularly in the geriatric population. The association increases with the severity of UI and persists when pooling models adjusted for confounders. It is unclear if this association is causative or just reflects an impaired general health condition. As in most meta-analyses of observational studies, methodological issues should be considered when interpreting results.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158992
spellingShingle Gregor John
Claire Bardini
Christophe Combescure
Patrick Dällenbach
Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
PLoS ONE
title Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_full Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_fullStr Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_full_unstemmed Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_short Urinary Incontinence as a Predictor of Death: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
title_sort urinary incontinence as a predictor of death a systematic review and meta analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158992
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