Women are more likely to develop urinary incontinence if their mother or older sisters are incontinent, says a new study in the British Medical Journal. The findings add weight to the theory that genetic factors may play a part in the development of this condition among women. The research team - from Norway - investigated the risk of urinary incontinence in the daughters, granddaughters, and sisters of incontinent women.
The daughters of mothers with urinary incontinence had 1.3 times the risk of being incontinent. If the mother had severe symptoms then the daughters had double the risk of such symptoms. Female siblings had 1.6 times the risk of urinary incontinence if their older sisters were incontinent.
"The symptoms of urinary incontinence are likely to have a complex cause, and known risk factors such as increasing age, pregnancy and childbirth, and high body mass index may further increase the risk among women with a genetic predisposition," said the authors.
