OBJECTIVES: Estimates of urinary incontinence (UI) prevalence vary widely due to different definitions of UI. Prevalence of UI among qualified Medicare Beneficiaries was estimated.

METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study of beneficiaries was conducted to estimate prevalence of UI among Medicare Beneficiaries. Data from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) were analyzed. Beneficiaries 65 years or older and residing in community settings were included in the study sample. Beneficiaries with proxy responders, residing in long-term care facilities, and those with diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s, end-stage renal disease, or disability were excluded. We focused on frequent UI to identify individuals for which UI was likely to have a large impact on functioning. UI was identified based on respondent self-report in answering the MCBS survey question that asked how often at all lost urine because you could not control your bladder. If individuals answered “2-3 times a month,” “more than once a week,” or “about once a week,” they were classified as having UI. SAS version 9.4 was used for all analysis and the PROC FREQ procedure was used to determine prevalence of UI with 95% confidence interval (CI), and distributions on demographic and clinical variables.

RESULTS: A total of 12,620 beneficiaries satisfied selection criteria. The sample was 74 % female and 85% were white. Approximately 27%, were over 85 years old, 44% were married, and 29% were high school graduates. As for clinical characteristics, 32% had diabetes, 27% experienced depression, 7% had congestive heart failure, and 25% had osteoarthritis. Among the 12,620 individuals in the sample, 3,298 were identified with UI yielding a UI prevalence of 26.1% (95% CI: 25.4% to 26.9%).

CONCLUSIONS: Even when frequent UI, i.e., loss of urine control 2 to 3 times a month or more often was examined, UI was present in over one-fourth of community dwelling Medicare beneficiaries.