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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;299(3):278.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

As many as 25% of adults will experience urinary or fecal incontinence in their lifetime, yet more than half will go untreated despite the availability of interventions to address these disorders, according to a consensus report published by the National Institutes of Health in December.

In addition to having a devastating effect on individuals’ personal lives, these conditions have a huge economic impact, with the cost of urinary incontinence alone estimated to be about $20 billion in 2000. The stigma associated with being unable to control one's bladder or bowels often leads persons with these conditions to limit their activities and withdraw from their loved ones, rather than seek treatment. Yet, if asked, most individuals will report their problems to their physician, according to the report (http://consensus.nih.gov/2007/IncontinenceStatementDRAFT121207.pdf).

Primary care physicians therefore have a key role to play in reducing the burden of theses conditions, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

USEFUL INTERVENTIONS