THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: INCONTINENCE IN THE GENERAL FEMALE POPULATION

Background: Recent data suggest that urinary incontinence (UI) concerns in average 25% of the entire population 20 years and older in western societies. However, as UI is mostly tabooed, its impact for the concerned persons is underestimated and its scientific significance neglected.

Aim: The aim of the review is to provide an overview of the current scientific status quo of urinary incontinence. Moreover, the symptom of UI as a wide-spread condition with multiple treatment options is highlighted.

Design: In order to achieve the aforementioned aim, a narrative review was conducted.

Setting: UI affects people from all parts of society, consequently a comprehensive setting was chosen for.

Population: The article at hand states prevalence and causes of pelvic floor disorders in various cohorts including general healthy population, people with neurological diseases, people with metabolic disorders, pregnancy as well as healthy young athletes.

Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted in the field of pelvic floor disorders, including prevalence, causes for various types of incontinence as well as current and future treatment strategies.

Results: The prevalence of UI is high and it`s underlying causes are multifarious. Consequently, people of various ages are affected. The costs of incontinence are enormous.

Conclusions: This review summarizes the scientific knowledge surrounding UI and discusses future directions of UI-related, therapeutic approaches.

Clinical Rehabilitation Impact: We raise awareness for the existence of UI in various groups of patients, offer causal explanations for UI development and depict current, as well as future treatment strategies.