Objectives: This article reports the characteristics associated with fecal incontinence (FI) in a nursing home population that are also associated with urinary incontinence (UI).
Method: A cross-sectional survey composed of data from the Wisconsin Center for Health Statistics' Annual Nursing Home Survey in 1992 and 1993. Demographic characteristics, functional status, and disease histories were correlated with UI.
Results: Data were available for 18,170 and 17,117 residents respectively, 56% of who were to varying degrees incontinent of urine in each year. Significant positive associations with UI included, in order of adjusted odds ratios: FI, truncal restraints, dementia, female gender, impaired vision, stroke, and constipation. Inverse associations were age, body mass index, tube feedings, and pressure ulcers. Diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, fecal impaction, and race were not associated with UI.
Conclusions: UI frequently coexists with FI in nursing home residents. FI and UI differ in their association with age, body mass, and gender.