Food Insecurity Is Associated With Urge Urinary Incontinence: An Analysis of the 2005-2010 National Health and...

Urge urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine associated with a sudden compelling urge to void. A previous study found an association between urge urinary incontinence and household income, indicating that social determinants of health may influence urge urinary incontinence. Food insecurity is a relevant social determinant of health, as a diet with bladder irritants may worsen urge urinary incontinence symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the association between urge urinary incontinence and food insecurity.

We collected data from the 2005-2010 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative health survey administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The association between urge urinary incontinence and food insecurity was analyzed using survey-weighed logistic regression with adjustments for demographic, socioeconomic status, behavioral, and medical comorbidities covariates.

We included 14,847 participants with mean age 50.4±17.9 years; 22.4% of participants reported at least 1 episode of urge urinary incontinence. We found that participants who reported food insecurity had 55% greater odds of experiencing urge urinary incontinence compared to those who have not (OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.33-1.82, P < .001). When comparing diets, food-insecure participants reported significantly less intake of bladder irritants (caffeine and alcohol) compared to food-secure participants. When the sample was stratified by food insecurity status (yes vs no), consumption of caffeine did not differ by urge urinary incontinence status and consumption of alcohol was lower among participants with vs without urge urinary incontinence.

Adults reporting food insecurity in the past year are significantly more likely to experience urge urinary incontinence than those who did not. Consumption of bladder irritants including caffeine and alcohol was significantly less in food-insecure compared to food-secure participants. When the sample was stratified by food insecurity status (yes vs no), consumption of caffeine did not differ by urge urinary incontinence status and consumption of alcohol was lower among participants with vs without urge urinary incontinence. These data indicate that diet alone does not drive the association between urge urinary incontinence and food insecurity. Instead, food insecurity may be a proxy for social inequity, perhaps the greatest driver of disease.