BACKGROUND There is a large body of evidence showing that incontinence is associated with decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Moreover, while a few cross-sectional studies have shown that incontinence is associated with decreased life satisfaction, there is a lack of studies regarding whether the onset of incontinence influences life satisfaction of affected individuals longitudinally. Thus, the objective of this study is: (i) to investigate the impact of incontinence on life satisfaction and (ii) whether this effect differed between women and men using a large population-based sample longitudinally. METHODS Longitudinal data from 2008 to 2014 were retrieved from a nationally representative sample (9869 observations in regression analysis) of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 years and over (German Ageing Survey, DEAS). Physician-diagnosed incontinence was reported by respondents. Life satisfaction was quantified using the well-established Satisfaction with Life Scale. Linear fixed-effects regressions were used. RESULTS After adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., self-rated health or depression), regressions revealed that the onset of incontinence was associated with a decline in life satisfaction in men (β = -.25, p < .01), but not in the total sample and in women. These differences were significant (p < .05). In a further sensitivity analysis, individuals with cancer were excluded. However, in terms of significance and effect size, the impact of incontinence on life satisfaction in men remained almost the same in both models. CONCLUSIONS The onset of incontinence markedly reduces life satisfaction among men aged 40 and over. Interventional strategies to postpone incontinence may assist in maintaining life satisfaction in men.

中文翻译：

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失禁的发作如何影响老年男女的生活满意度？全国代表性纵向研究的发现（德国老龄化调查）。

背景技术有大量证据表明，尿失禁与健康相关的生活质量（HRQoL）下降有关。此外，尽管一些横断面研究表明，尿失禁与生活满意度降低有关，但缺乏关于尿失禁的发作是否会纵向影响受影响个体的生活满意度的研究。因此，本研究的目的是：（i）研究失禁对生活满意度的影响，以及（ii）纵向使用大量基于人口的样本，男女之间的这种影响是否有所不同。方法从40岁及40岁以上社区居民的全国代表性样本（回归分析中的9869个观察值）中获取2008年至2014年的纵向数据（德国老龄化调查，DEAS）。受访者报告了医生诊断的失禁。使用完善的生活满意度量表对生活满意度进行量化。使用线性固定效应回归。结果在校正了潜在的混杂因素（例如，自我评估的健康状况或抑郁）后，回归显示，尿失禁的发作与男性生活满意度的下降有关（β= -.25，p <.01），而在男性中则没有。总样本和女性。这些差异是显着的（p <.05）。在进一步的敏感性分析中，排除了患有癌症的个体。但是，就显着性和影响大小而言，两种模型中失禁对男性生活满意度的影响几乎相同。结论失禁的发作明显降低了40岁及40岁以上男性的生活满意度。