World Continence Week
Australians are being urged to take the matter of incontinence more seriously during World Continence Week, particularly in light of disturbing new data that suggests the majority of women affected simply laugh it off.
Incontinence affects 4.8 million Australian adults, making it more prevalent than arthritis (3.1 million), anxiety disorders (2.3 million) and asthma (2 million).
A recent national survey* of 1000 women with bladder leakage found that most (72 per cent) “laughed it off” when talking to other women about the issue.
Alarmingly, 85 per cent of the women who laughed it off mistakenly attributed their bladder leakage to ageing or having children, with 45 per cent not bothering to seek treatment because they didn’t consider it a serious enough health issue.
World Continence Week – June 19-25
