Psychosomatics 47:147-151, April 2006 by Simone N. Vigod, M.D. and Donna E. Stewart, M.D., FRCPC

The authors explored the relationship between urinary incontinence and major depression through data from the Canadian Community Health Survey. The prevalence of depression was 15.5% in women with urinary incontinence (30% in women ages 18–44) and only 9.2% in women without urinary incontinence.

Women with both incontinence and depression were more likely to have stress, increased visits to a physician and lost days from work. These conditions frequently occur together in Canadian women, and the combined impact of urinary incontinence and major depression exceeds the impact of either condition alone.

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