Normal Changes with Age

Age does not cause urinary incontinence, but normal changes of aging make it more likely when other risk factors are present.

These normal changes include the following:

• decreased bladder volume;

• increased residual volume;

• increased frequency of involuntary detrusor contractions.

In post-menopausal women, estrogen deficiency causes decreased pelvic floor support and can lead to stress incontinence, especially in women whose internal sphincter has been damaged by childbirth or gynecological surgeries.

In men, prostatic enlargement typically leads first to symptoms of urgency or urge incontinence, and later to overflow incontinence.

When mobility is impaired, these changes may also cause functional incontinence.