Læknablaðið - 15.08.1996, Page 15

LÆKNABLAÐIÐ 1996; 82
563
Þvagleki og þvagfærasýkingar hjá
konum 70-89 ára
Lilja Þ. Björnsdóttir1), Reynir T. Geirsson 1,2), Pálmi V. Jónsson 1,3)
Björnsdóttir LÞ, Geirsson RT, Jónsson PV
Urinary incontinence and urinary tract infections in
70-89 year old women
Læknablaðið 1996; 82: 563-8
Objectives: The purpose of the study was to in-
vestigate the prevalence and presentation of urinary
incontinence (UI) and urinary tract infection (UTI)
among elderly women.
Material and methods: A total of 120 women, aged
70-89 years, were randomly selected and asked
about urogenital complaints in a structured inter-
view. Seventy were living in homes for the elderly
and 50 living at home. Medical records provided
information about urinary tract infections and the
use of estrogens.
Main outcome measures: Types and frequency of
urinary incontinence and urogenital complaints and
estrogen use.
Results: Urinary incontinence affected 47.5%, half
of them daily. Urge incontinence was most common
(39%), then mixed incontinence (32%) and stress
incontinence (26%). Urge and mixed incontinence
caused significantly more discomfort than stress in-
continence. During the past two years 35% of the
women had experienced UTI and 11% had five or
more infections. A total of 27 women were receiving
estrogen treatment, the majority in homes for the
elderly (p<0.001). They had a high prevalence of
UI, UTI, and other complaints compared to women
Frá11 læknadeiid Háskóla íslands,21 kvennadeild Landspít-
alans, 31 öldrunarlækningadeild Borgarspítalans. Fyrir-
spurnir, bréfaskipti; Lilja Þ. Björnsdóttir, Grenimel 21, 107
Reykjavík.
Lykilorð: Urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, estr-
ogen replacement therapy.
not receiving estrogens. Considerable or great dis-
comfort from the urogenital tract was reported by
21% of the women. A third of the women had dis-
cussed urogenital complaints with a physician.
Conclusion: In view of the prevalence of urogenital
complaints, it is likely that more elderly women
could benefit from medical assessment and treat-
ment. Indications for estrogen treatment need to be
more clearly defined. Physicians might improve
management by using preventive measures, affirma-
tive questioning and more diagnostic work-up and
thus improve the quality of life of elderly women.
Ágrip
Tilgangur: Rannsóknin var gerð til að kanna
algengi og birtingu þvagleka og þvagfærasýk-
inga hjá gömlum konum.
Efniviður og aðferðir: Samtals voru 120 kon-
ur á aldrinum 70-89 ára valdar með hendingar-
vali. Sjötíu bjuggu í þjónusturými elliheimila
og 50 í heimahúsum. Spurt var um tilvist þvag-
leka og þvag- og kynfæravandamál í stöðluðu
viðtali. Sjúkraskrár veittu upplýsingar um
þvagfærasýkingar og östrógen notkun.
Mælistikur: Gerð og tíðni þvagleka og þvag-
færavandamála og algengi östrógen notkunar.
Niðurstöður: Alls voru 47,5% með þvagleka
og 23% með leka daglega. Bráðaleki var al-
gengastur (39%), síðan blandleki (32%) og
áreynsluleki (26%). Bráða- og blandleki ollu
marktækt meiri óþægindum en áreynsluleki.
Síðastliðin tvö ár höfðu 35% fengið þvagfæra-
sýkingu og 11% fengið fimm eða fleiri sýking-
ar. Á östrógenmeðferð voru 27 konur, oftar
þær sem dvöldu á stofnunum (p<0,001). Kon-
ur á östrógenmeðferð voru marktækt oftar en
aðrar konur með þvagleka, þvagfærasýkingar
og önnur óþægindi. Talsverð eða mikil óþæg-