Women’s Health: U.S. Markets for Urinary Incontinence Management Products

As blood circulates around the body, it flows through the kidneys, which filter the blood, removing waste products and excess water while also regulating electrolyte balance and maintaining homeostasis.The excess water and other substances that are filtered from the blood by the kidneys are excreted as urine, which flows through collecting tubules in the kidneys, into the ureters, and eventually into the urinary bladder, where it is stored until it is eliminated from the body. Urination (also known as micturition) is the process of eliminating urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. This process is activated when the urinary bladder wall is stretched, a reflex that occurs via the sacral region of the spinal cord. During micturition, bladder muscles contract while pelvic floor muscles around the urethra relax, causing urine to be eliminated from the body. This process typically is under voluntary control; urinary incontinence (UI) results when control over urination is lost or absent.

Urinary incontinence affects more than 15 million people in the United States (U.S.); of these, approximately 85% are women. According the American Urological Association (AUA), the prevalence of daily UI increases with age and ranges from 12.2% in women between the ages of 60 and 64 to 20.9% in women age 85 and older. Incontinence is believed to affect at least half of the approximately 1.6 million U.S. nursing home residents and approximately one-third of all elderly people living at home. Urinary incontinence has significant effects, both in terms of healthcare spending and quality of life. In 2007, more than $235 million Medicare dollars were spent on UI management, and several times this amount was spent by private insurers. People with the condition often limit social activities, travel, and work activities to avoid potentially embarrassing episodes that may occur. Due to the size of both the current and potential UI markets, product manufacturers continue to investigate new therapies that will provide better and more predictable results with fewer complications.