Urologic diseases in America project: urinary incontinence in males--demographics and economic burden

We quantified and describe the demographics and economic burden of male urinary incontinence in the United States of America.

The analytic methods used to generate these results have been described previously.

Urinary incontinence (UI) affects men of all ages, including 17% of males older than 60 years in the United States, which is an estimated 3.4 million men. There is a strong trend toward an increasing prevalence of UI with increasing age as well as an increase in the prevalence of UI in males with time. Ethnicity has less of a role in prevalence estimates in men than in women. The largest impact of UI in elderly men is in physician office visits, followed by outpatient services and surgeries. Resource use is greatest in the nursing home setting, where more than half of men have UI and require assistance with toileting. The overall economic burden for male UI is estimated at 18.8 billion dollars in direct medical costs in 1998/1999 dollars. Medical expenditures for UI for male Medicare beneficiaries 65 years and older have doubled since 1992. Compared to persons without UI the presence of UI increases the annual expenditures per person yearly from 3,204 dollars to 7,702 dollars.

The direct and indirect costs of male UI increased throughout the 1990s with annual expenditures per person yearly in men with UI more than double that in men without UI. Given the aging population and staggering impact of UI in nursing home settings, there is a compelling need for further research into effective prevention, treatment and management strategies.