Association between frailty and urinary incontinence and their effects on adverse health outcomes in community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v15i3.50799Keywords:
Older adults, Frailty, Urinary incontinence, Health of older adults.Abstract
This systematic review aimed to examine the association between frailty and urinary incontinence (UI) and their impact on adverse health outcomes among community-dwelling older adults. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 statement, with the research question structured using the PECO framework, and included observational studies published between 2021 and 2025, identified through searches of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and LILACS. Twenty studies were included, comprising a total of 58,347 community-dwelling older adults. The findings demonstrated a statistically significant association between frailty and UI in 90% of the included studies, supporting a bidirectional relationship in which frailty increased the risk of UI, while UI was also associated with the progression of frailty. The coexistence of these conditions was primarily associated with a higher risk of falls, functional decline, poorer quality of life, and increased healthcare utilization. Findings regarding mortality, hospitalization, and institutionalization were less consistent, possibly due to methodological heterogeneity across studies. In conclusion, frailty and UI are frequent and clinically relevant coexisting conditions among community-dwelling older adults, underscoring the need for integrated screening and multidisciplinary interventions in Primary Health Care. Nevertheless, further standardized longitudinal studies are warranted.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gerson de Souza Santos, Jean Guilherme Souza Silva Sabino, Ana Luisa Araújo Souza, Hércules Alves Miguel Dias, Deisy Azevedo Dourado Vilela, Cíntia Ferreira Amorim
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