A comparison between experienced and objectively demonstrated urinary leakage in 85-year old men and women

The ability of 37 urinary incontinent 85-year old men and women to perform the 48-h pad test in their home environment was studied. Assessment of the magnitude of urinary incontinence by the 48-h pad test was compared with a subjective assessment, performed by the men and women themselves. Twenty-eight of the 37 men and women successfully performed the 48-h pad test. Early signs of dementia and defective vision were the main reasons for not completing the test successfully. The six women who considered their urinary incontinence to be slight had a maximum leakage per pad of 5.3 +/- 1.4 g. The corresponding figure for women with moderate incontinence was 48.8 +/- 12.3 g. None of the women considered their incontinence to be severe, even though eight of the women had a leakage per pad of greater than 30 g. Six men considered their incontinence to be moderate (25.0 +/- 8.1 g) and one man considered his incontinence to be severe (31 g/pad). Fourteen of the 28 men and women underestimated the magnitude of their urinary incontinence.