FRIDAY, Oct. 15, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Women are more likely to develop urinary incontinence if their mothers or older sisters have the problem, a Norwegian study finds.
Researchers at the University of Bergen measured the risk of urinary incontinence in daughters, granddaughters and sisters of more than 2,000 incontinent women and of almost 6,000 women with relatives without the condition.
Daughters of incontinent women were 30 percent more likely to be incontinent themselves, according to the study, which appears in the Oct. 16 issue of the British Medical Journal. If mothers had severe symptoms, their daughters had close to a twofold risk of incontinence.
The risk was 60 percent higher for a woman with an incontinent older sister, the study found.
"This is the first study to investigate the risk in such a large population," said study author Dr. Yngvild S. Hannestad, a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Bergen department of public health.
About 13 million Americans suffer from inability to hold their urine until they can get to a bathroom. The problem is twice as common in women as in men. The risk for women goes up with weight, age and the number of pregnancies.
The study indicates that there is a genetic factor in the risk of incontinence, Hannestad said, but "our findings are not able to say what the genetic component consists of." Laboratory studies of muscles, nerves and ligaments in the pelvic region have shown differences between continent and incontinent women, she said.
"This study adds some credence to the observations that we see clinically about risk factors," said Dr. Raymond R. Rackley, head of the section of female urology at the Cleveland Clinic.
Knowledge about the family relationship "may help us identify women at high risk," Rackley said. But there is not much that can be done about most of the risk factors, he added.
"We can't prevent them from aging. They can't give up having children," Rackley said. "But they can try to keep their bodies at an ideal weight."
Properly timed physical activity might be a preventive measure for some women, Hannestad said. "Studies have shown some benefit from doing pelvic exercises during pregnancy," she said "Women might benefit from doing that."
Some American women already are aware of the possible genetic influence on the risk of incontinence, Rackley said. "I have women coming in who say, 'My mother has this, my sister has this, I don't want to wind up with this problem,'" he said.
The best advice he can give is to avoid being overweight, Rackley said. "Physical therapy might help, but that hasn't been proven," he said.
More information
You can learn about incontinence from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
