FEMALE URINARY INCONTINENCE IN CANADA

In Canada, Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a significant medical and social problem which can be devastating to a women’s physical, social and emotional well being. As in other developed countries our population is aging. In 1993, 11.8 per cent of all Canadians were over age 65; by the year 2011, the proportion of this age group will be 14.0 per cent; by 2031, it will be 21.7 per cent (1). It is estimated that between 1.5 to 2.0 million Canadians (out of a population of just over 30 million) suffer from UI, yet only 1:12 will seek medical attention for this problem. UI is now the commonest cause of admission to long-term institutionalized centers in the United States and Canada. In Canada, we now spend over 1.5 billion dollars annually on this health care problem. At the Baycrest Geriatric Center (BGC) in Toronto, where we have a urogynecology branch of the unit at Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH), recent budget figures indicate that the hospital spends $320,000 (Cadanian) annually on adult diapers (2).