Abstract

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms and urinary incontinence are very common in the general population and increase in prevalence in association with age. Urinary incontinence in particular is still seldom discussed by patients, many of whom delay seeking healthcare for the condition. Urinary symptoms have a considerable impact on morbidity and quality of life. Older people encounter multiple barriers in gaining treatment for their problem and are unfortunately less likely to be given evidence-based treatment than younger people. Urinary incontinence means a person leaks urine by accident. While it may happen to anyone, urinary incontinence is more common in older people, especially women. Incontinence can often be cured or controlled. The body stores urine in the bladder. During urination, muscles in the bladder tighten to move urine into a tube called the urethra. At the same time, the muscles around the urethra relax and let the urine pass out of the body. When the muscles in and around the bladder don’t work the way they should, urine can leak. Incontinence typically occurs if the muscles relax without warning.
Aim of the study: This study aims to assessment the prevalence of urinary incontinence among elderly patients attending the primary health care centers in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, KSA.
 Method: A cross-sectional study will be conducted to estimate the prevalence of self-reported UI among elderly patients attending primary health care centers in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in date collection period. Our total of simple is (400) elderly patients
Results : A total of is (400) elderly patients .The majority of the respondents were females (57.14% ), Malays (42.86 %), The age of the respondents ranged from 25-65 years, with a mean of 37.87±12.088 years showed positive correlations between degree of symptoms and signs of diagnosis of incontinence and degree the Frequency of symptoms Where (r = 0.578) and have statistical  a significant relation where p < 0.001).
 Conclusion:Urinary incontinence is common and often disturbing Saudi elderly, our study found that the prevalence was it adversely impaired their quality of life (QOL). Elderly age and parity were significantly related to impaired QOL. We acknowledge the fact that urinary incontinence is a common and poorly understood problem in our community.  Another problem in the elderly age group is cognitive impairment, which also contributes to urinary incontinence. Prevalence of urinary incontinence is most likely underestimated.