Diapers-Okay For a Toddler But Not For Adult Men

Loss of urine is no laughing matter.  It affects nearly 14 million American adults.  Let’s put the myth aside that incontinence only affects women.  Incontinence it’s surprisingly common in men of all age groups. In fact, it’s been reported as being only half as frequent in men as in women, which represents quite a sizeable number of sufferers. Unfortunately, men with incontinence rarely discuss it with their physician, so that the necessary attention is not paid to the problem.

 

Surprisingly, 25% of men aged 40 or below reported incontinence at least once during the past 12 months. All men over 40 had at least a 30% incidence of incontinence – it was 36% in the 60 to 70-year-olds – but it dropped to 20% in the over-80-year-olds.

 

The results were analyzed to see if there were obvious relationships between incontinence and possible causes. Men who had had prostate surgery or bladder surgery, or who were taking medications for urinary problems, had a significantly increased likelihood of being incontinent (2 to 3 times more likely). Prostate cancer, taking diuretics (water-pills) or prostate medications did not affect the likelihood of incontinence.

 

Not surprisingly, frequent incontinence was associated with deterioration in some aspects of the quality-of-life. For instance, emotional health, social relationships, physical activity, and travel were all less satisfactory for incontinent men.

 

Only a third of the men with incontinence had discussed the problem with their physicians. However, three-quarters of them expressed an interest in having a full evaluation and treatment of the problem, if it were offered.

 

It can be concluded that male incontinence is a real problem across all age groups, and that it affects men’s quality of life. Unfortunately, the sufferers do not often discuss it with their physicians. There is clearly much room for improvement in its diagnosis and management.

 

Bottom Line:  Most men with incontinence can be helped and many can even be cured with exercises, medication, and surgery.  Sufferers should not suffer in silence, but speak out to their physicians and health providers, in order that more attention is paid to their problem. 

Want To Live Longer and Better? Start Walking….But Do It A Little Faster

Medical science has recognized for many years that walking 30 minutes a day improves the quality of life through the attainment of a higher level of functional capacity up to the end of life. Now we have research that walking 30 minutes at a rate of 3.5 miles per hour also improves the quantity, or how long we live.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association studied thousands of seniors over age 65 and found that those who walked at a faster speed lived longer and with a better quality of life. The paper pointed out that walking is a reliable tool for measuring well-being and predicting longevity because walking requires body support, timing, and power, and it places demands on the brain, spinal cord, muscle, joints, heart, and lungs. Significant to this study was the finding that the greatest gains in longevity correlated with gait speed and were realized after age 75.

What is most surprising about this new research was the dramatic correlation that was found between gait speed and life expectancy. Figure 1 compared the probability that an 80 year old male or female will live to 90, based on waling one mile per hour versus 3.5 miles per hour, and the predicted differences in medial life expectancies for these two groups. The analysis demonstrated that the median life expectancy of an 80 year old of either sex increases an additional 10 years, simply if the gait speed of that individual is 3.5 mph versus 1 mph.

Bottom Line: We all know that exercise is good for us and performing some activity such as walking 30 minutes a day is going to be good for us. Now we know that if we pick up the pace a little bit we will have a better quality of life and will probably live longer. So if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, walking at brisk pace will increase the distance between the doctor and the patient.

Speed of Walking Improves Longevity