Troubles urinaires chez les personnes âgées en institution : une expérience tunisienne

The objectives of our study were to detect and identify urinary disorders among elderly people in institutions, to assess the functional impact of these disorders and then to assess their impact on quality of life. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the Manouba facility comprising 120 residents. We studied the characteristics of the urinary symptom profiles, the severity of the disorders using a measure of urinary deficit [Mesure du Handicap Urinaire (MHU)] and the Functional Independence Measure (French version MIF) and we assessed quality of life using the SF-36. Fifty-three participants were included in our study. Thirty-eight residents were excluded. Of these, 4 were followed for neuropathies, 23 had significant disorders of the higher functions and 11 were already followed for urinary disorders. Twenty-nine residents refused to participate in our study. The average age of the participants was 70.76 ± 8.32 years. Seven participants did not report urinary symptoms in the interview. For the others, it was often mixed urinary incontinence (16 cases). Urinary urgency was reported in 19 cases. The mean MHU score was 11.47. The mean MIF score was 88.18/126. For the SF-36, we found a physical activity score of 37, a mean life and relationships with others score of 35 and a mean perceived health score of 31. Although the social and functional repercussions are considerable, older people tend not to seek care for urinary disorders, and still consider them taboo. The detection of urinary disorders among the elderly is important, as this can partly improve the quality of life of these people.