Urinary incontinence in Thai elderly living in Klong Toey slum

Seven hundred and three non-institutionalized Thai elderly living in Klong Toey slum were interviewed at home about their urinary symptoms and 114 cases of established urinary incontinence were identified. The prevalence of established urinary incontinence was 16.2 per cent. The commonest type is pure urge incontinence (58.8%). 24.4 per cent of male subjects with established incontinence had symptoms of outlet obstruction. 54.4 per cent of subjects were classified as severely incontinent. More than 50 per cent had at least one psychological impact and 7.9 per cent reported that their social lives were severely affected. Only 8.8 per cent had sought medical help before and only 30 per cent were willing to attend a specialist at a university hospital. The attitude of the elderly, the carers and medical doctors toward urinary incontinence has to be corrected. Urinary incontinence should be a public health issue in Thailand and there may be considerable scope for the provision of incontinence service at the primary health care level.