Introduction: Very little is known about the differences between men and women as they seek medical care for their urinary incontinence (UI). The objective of this study was to compare characteristics between men and women as they seek medical care for their UI, examining patients’ experience both with primary care (PCP) and UI specialists. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing the National Association for Continence (NAFC)-sponsored adult patient-reported survey data from March 2020 to April 2020. NAFC is a leading patient incontinence advocacy organization in the United States. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared test for categorical variables, and ordinal univariate logistic regression were used. Results: 266 individuals with UI who had sought medical care completed the survey during the study period. 124 (47%) were women (W) and 142 (53%) were men (M). The study population was older, with the majority of respondents either 45-64 (35%) or 65+ (48%). Most participants sought care for their UI within 2 years of UI onset (59%) and first spoke to their PCP about their UI (64.7%). Women were more likely to endorse a severe emotional impact (OR 1.63, CI 1.04-2.56, p=0.04) and severe physical impact (OR 1.90, CI 1.19-3.04, p=0.01) of UI on their life. Men were more likely to endorse that their PCP had spoken to them about a wide range of treatment options and to have been started on a treatment plan. Men were also more likely to be started on a UI medication by their PCP compared to women. PCP referral rates to specialty care were higher amongst men (table 1). For those who received a referral, there was a high rate of specialist follow up (94.0% vs 98.5% p =0.19). Men were mostly referred to urology (W 47% vs 94% M, p<0.01) while women were also frequently referred to gynecology (W 15.9% vs 0% M, p<0.01) and urogynecology (W 25.0% vs 0.9% M, p<0.01). Conclusions: Though women endorsed more severe impact of their UI on their life, men were more likely to be counseled on a wide range of treatment options, started on a treatment plan, prescribed UI medication, and be referred to specialty care for treatment of UI. We can use this information to help close the gap in UI care between men and women. SOURCE OF Funding: NYU Department of Urology funded the data analysis. The survey conducted by NAFC was sponsored by Astellas.
