Prevalence of urinary frequency among women aged 60 years and older in Taiwan

To evaluate the prevalence of daytime urinary frequency among Taiwanese women aged 60 years and older.

There were an estimated 1.25 million female residents aged 60 years and over in Taiwan in 2000. A sample of 2,410 women was selected using a multistage random sampling method. Face-to-face visits with 1,523 women were completed by trained professional interviewers within 3 months of the subjects selection. Questions about urinary frequency and other lower urinary tract symptoms, sociodemographics, reproduction, and medical and surgical histories were recorded. The factors were assessed by frequency and Pearson's Chi-squared test using a significance level of < 0.05.

The prevalence of urinary frequency in Taiwanese women aged 60 years and over was 18.8% (286/1,521). The response rate was 85.0% (1,521/1,789). For those who complained of frequency, 45.8% voided 8-15 times a day, 37.8% voided 16-23 times a day, 1.7% voided 24-31 times and a day, and 14.7% voided more than 31 times a day. The prevalence of urinary frequency was significantly associated with age (p < 0.001).

Urinary frequency is a common symptom in menopausal women and is significantly related to age. More than half of the women interviewed experienced intervals of < 1 hour between visits to the restroom during the day.