Geriatric giants in women over 65 years living in a rural area in Turkey

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of fall tendency, urinary incontinence, and dementia in women over 65 years of age living in rural areas of Turkey. The research was a descriptive study. Mini-Mental tests, The International Consultation of Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ) short forms, and Falls Behavioral Scales for the elderly were used. Urinary incontinence prevalence in women over 65 years of age living in rural areas of Bursa was 51%. Dementia frequency was calculated as 56%. A reverse and significant relationship was detected between Mini-Mental Scale and ICIQ scale scores (r = −0.12; p = .017). The Falls Behavioral Scale score was higher in the group with incontinence. The conclusion reached was that urinary incontinence and dementia are frequent among older women living in rural areas in Turkey. As diseases known as geriatric giants are associated with each other, treatment of one of them may bring protection from another negative situation.

KEYWORDS:

• Dementia
• falls
• primary care
• rural medicine
• urinary incontinence

Acknowledgments

The authors thank to Mrs. Nazli Demirci (Philologist) for her participation in language editing of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.