Predictors of treatment response to behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy for urinary incontinence

Demographic, medical, and physiologic predictors of behavioral treatment and pharmacotherapy success would be useful in selecting treatments for specific patients with urinary incontinence based on their histories, physical examinations, and urodynamic profiles. The author performed a systematic review of clinical trials of behavioral treatment or pharmacotherapy for urinary incontinence. Most postulated predictors (age, type and duration of incontinence, medications including diuretics and estrogen, obstetric history, physical examination, and urodynamic findings) were not predictive of treatment outcomes. For behavioral therapy, male gender predicted worse outcomes in 1 study, but it was not a predictor in 2 other studies. Greater severity of incontinence predicted positive outcomes in 2 studies, negative outcomes in 3 studies, and had no predictive value in 5 studies. Prior treatment for incontinence predicted poorer outcomes in 2 studies of urge incontinence but was not predictive in a study of stress incontinence. Prior surgical treatment predicted better outcomes in 1 study of urge incontinence in women but was unrelated in 4 studies. Male gender, depression, or the use of assistive devices for ambulation predicted poorer outcomes in homebound older persons. For pharmacotherapy of urge incontinence, older age, female gender, and greater incontinence severity were associated with poorer outcomes in 1 study. Age was unassociated with outcomes in another study. Thus, the literature on predictors of outcomes of behavioral and drug treatment for urinary incontinence is inconsistent and does not provide guidelines for treatment selection. More studies, with large samples, that use multivariate regression analysis to examine predictors of outcomes are needed.