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April 24, 2026

The estimated economic burden of urinary incontinence-related complications in older adults Canada

Key Points

To estimate the economic burden of urinary incontinence-related complications in older adults in Canada.
Comprehensive literature review utilizing PubMed and Canadian Institute for Health Information data.
Analysis of prevalence, complication rates, and treatment costs across acute care, long-term care, homecare, and self/family care.
Quantification of complications including urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, and falls.
Estimated 2,338,503 older Canadians have urinary incontinence, with annual costs exceeding $1.65 billion.
Acute care accounted for the highest costs, driven by skin-related complications totaling $525 million for pressure ulcers and $471 million for dermatitis.
Homecare and self/family care incurred significant costs from fall-related injuries totaling $126 million.

Abstract

Backgrounds: Urinary incontinence (UI) is increasingly prevalent, particularly in older adults. UI management is frequently under-resourced and is associated with the development of potentially avoidable complications, placing a significant burden on the patient and on the healthcare system. This study aimed to estimate the cost of UI-related complications in Canada. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature review using PubMed, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) data and citation mining to identify the prevalence of UI, UI-related complications, and associated treatment costs across each of acute care, long-term care (LTC), homecare and self/family care. UI-related complications quantified included: urinary tract infections (UTI), catheter-associated UTI, incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), UI-related pressure ulcers (PU), slips and falls, and fall-related injuries. The total economic burden to the Canadian healthcare system was estimated using UI prevalence, complication rates, and costs of treating complications in each setting. Results: The estimated number of older Canadians with UI totaled 2, 338, 503 with an annual economic burden of UI-related complications up to 1, 654, 875, 326. Acute care had the highest cost (up to 1, 190, 494, 315), driven by skin-related complications (up to 525, 692, 182 for PU and 471, 461, 636 for IAD). Fall-related injuries, followed by UTIs, imposed the highest cost in LTC, homecare and self/family care, totaling up to 309, 141, 175 and 126, 305, 519, respectively. LTC had the lowest overall complication burden (up to 49, 408, 153), roughly one-third the cost in homecare, and one-fifth the cost in self/family care. Conclusions: UI and its associated complications represent a substantial economic burden to the Canadian healthcare system. This underscores the need for improved UI management strategies to contain associated costs.

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