Beyond Pads: Early Intervention for Female Urinary Incontinence

 

Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence (UI)

Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common, and most overlooked, conditions in women’s health. Estimates suggest UI affects 62% of women, and the true number is likely higher, given how often it goes unreported.

 

Despite its prevalence, UI is still treated as a “nuisance symptom” rather than a condition with meaningful medical, financial, and functional consequences. For many patients, that perception - combined with stigma and lack of screening - leads to a significant delay in care.

 

On average, women live with symptoms for more than a decade before seeking treatment.

By then, the impact of UI often extends far beyond the bladder.

UI is Not Just a Quality-of-Life Issue

UI is often framed as an inconvenience. But research shows it is closely linked to serious health risks and functional decline – increasing the burden of illness on women throughout their lifetime.

 

Studies have found that:

• Mixed urinary incontinence is strongly associated with mobility and social disabilities within just 3.7 years.
• Urinary incontinence is linked to:
• Increased risk of urinary tract infections by 2-5x (higher risk with age)
• 2x risk of severe depression
• Avoidance of exercise
• Avoidance of sexual intimacy and relationships
• Increased risk for postpartum depression (PPD) by 45%
• Increased risk for recurrent falls
• UI is a contributing factor in nursing home admissions – 2x greater for incontinent women 

In other words, UI is not simply a symptom. It can be an early indicator and potentially a driver of broader health deterioration.

 

With 66% of women not bringing up their UI symptoms to their healthcare provider, this progression can happen faster than many clinicians consider.

 

Why Do Women Wait So Long?

If the impacts are so significant, why do patients delay care?

 

Although prevalence is high, health-seeking behavior remains low worldwide with only 13-55% of women seeking out care for their incontinence symptoms.

 

Research points to several consistent barriers:

• Stigma and embarrassment around bladder symptoms
• The belief that leaks are “normal” after childbirth or with age
• The belief that leaks will improve with time 

Many women simply wait to be asked.

And in busy clinical settings, that question often never comes. In fact, only 3% of providers ask about urinary incontinence during a patient visit.

The Hidden Financial Burden

For many patients, UI begins with a “quick fix”: pads, liners, or absorbent underwear.

 

And yet - according to a recent report by the National Association for Continence (NAFC), incontinence can cost $900-$4,000 per year. More than half of patients spends $50 or more per month on absorbent products alone and nearly 1 in 5 patients spends $100+ per month to manage their incontinence – this adds up to $600-1200 on coping mechanisms alone.

 

What feels like a small, routine purchase becomes a substantial financial burden over time - especially for patients living with symptoms for years. In fact, 70% of patients choose absorbent products over food or medicine when forced to choose.

 

Across the population, these “small” expenses add up to billions of dollars annually.

 

And unlike definitive treatment, these products do not improve the underlying condition. They simply manage the consequences – and not very well, as use of these products can impact confidence, relationships, and overall health.

The Clinical Opportunity: Early Intervention Changes Trajectory

 

The progression to negative health impacts isn’t inevitable.

 

Screening and early intervention for urinary incontinence can:

• Increase new diagnoses of urinary incontinence
• Increase subspecialty referrals
• Improve patient outcomes and satisfaction
• Lower long-term healthcare and out-of-pocket costs

Yet early intervention for UI is exactly where traditional care pathways often fall short.

 

The small subset of patients who do bring up their UI symptoms are frequently told to:

• “Watch and wait”
• “Do Kegels”
• Return if symptoms worsen
• See specialty care, without specific guidance

Without structure, follow-up, or support, these patients many never return—until symptoms are severe enough to consider or default to invasive treatment.

Closing the Gap Between Diagnosis and Action

 There is a growing need for practical, conservative options that clinicians can offer at the point of diagnosis - especially for patients who want to avoid medication or surgery.

 

With an innovative conservative treatment option, Flyte is helping redefine this early-intervention window by:

• Providing an at-home treatment that is easy to use (just 5 minutes a day/6 weeks)
• Removing common barriers like scheduling, travel, or cost of medication or in-person treatments
• Giving patients a concrete, immediate next step to reduce delays or drop-off from care

For Family Medicine and primary care clinicians, this supports a more complete and actionable care pathway.

A Practical Framework for Early UI Care

Early intervention doesn’t require a complex workflow. It starts with a simple, consistent approach:

1. Ask every female patient one question, minimally annually
   “Have you leaked urine in the past 3 months?” A single screening question can uncover symptoms patients may never volunteer.
2. Educate the patient
   Explain that UI is common, treatable, and worth addressing early.
3. Offer conservative treatment options
   For appropriate patients, consider Flyte, a unique at-home treatment to achieve positive outcomes quickly and reduce drop-off from care.
4. Follow up as needed
   If needed, ask the patient to follow up in 3 months for continuity in care. (And know that Flyte’s patient support will also follow up with your patient at onboarding, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year.)
5. Collaborate with specialists when needed
   Partner with pelvic floor physical therapists, urogynecologists, or other clinicians for complex cases.

Flyte: A first-line, at-home conservative treatment your patients can begin at point of diagnosis

Early intervention for urinary incontinence improves outcomes quickly and decreases delay in care – but historically there has been a gap in effective treatment options that make this possible.

 

Flyte is an FDA-cleared, at-home female urinary incontinence treatment using transvaginal mechanotherapy to deliver outcomes comparable to surgery, in just 5 minutes a day for 6 weeks. Flyte is clinically proven, easy to use, and shipped directly to your patient’s home so they can begin treatment right away.

 

Flyte is available by prescription and easy to order – see How to Prescribe Flyte here.

 

Learn more about Flyte:

·       Clinical Results

·       Contraindications and Indications

·       What is Mechanotherapy?

The Takeaway

Urinary incontinence is not just a quality-of-life issue. It carries:

• Real medical risks increasing the burden of illness
• Significant financial costs for both the patient and the payer
• Measurable impacts on mobility, mental health, and independence

And yet, most women wait more than ten years to seek help.

 

For clinicians, the opportunity is clear:
Ask earlier. Intervene earlier. Change the trajectory.

 

Because with urinary incontinence, the true cost is often not the symptoms themselves, but the years spent waiting to treat it.

 

References

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Cheng S, Lin D, Hu T, Cao L, Liao H, Mou X, Zhang Q, Liu J, Wu T. Association of urinary incontinence and depression or anxiety: a meta-analysis. J Int Med Res. 2020 Jun;48(6):300060520931348. doi: 10.1177/0300060520931348. PMID: 32552169; PMCID: PMC7303787.

Bartolone SN, Sharma P, Chancellor MB, Lamb LE. Urinary Incontinence and Alzheimer's Disease: Insights From Patients and Preclinical Models. Front Aging Neurosci. 2021 Dec 17;13:777819. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.777819. PMID: 34975457; PMCID: PMC8718555.

 

Brown WJ, Miller YD. Too wet to exercise? Leaking urine as a barrier to physical activity in women. J Sci Med Sport. 2001 Dec;4(4):373-8. doi: 10.1016/s1440-2440(01)80046-3. PMID: 11905931.

 

Saiki, L., & Meize-Grochowski, R. (2017). Urinary incontinence and psychosocial factors associated with intimate relationship satisfaction among midlife women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 46(4), 555–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2017.02.003

 

Gallego-Gómez, C., Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, E., Torres-Costoso, A., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V., Martínez-Bustelo, S., Quezada-Bascuñán, C. A., et al. (2024). Urinary incontinence increases risk of postpartum depression: Systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2024.02.307

 

Moon S, Chung HS, Kim YJ, Kim SJ, Kwon O, Lee YG, Yu JM, Cho ST. The impact of urinary incontinence on falls: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2021 May 19;16(5):e0251711. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251711. PMID: 34010311; PMCID: PMC8133449.

 

Thom DH, Haan MN, Van Den Eeden SK. Medically recognized urinary incontinence and risks of hospitalization, nursing home admission and mortality. Age Ageing. 1997 Sep;26(5):367-74. doi: 10.1093/ageing/26.5.367. PMID: 9351481.

 

National Poll on Healthy Aging. (2018, November). National Poll on Healthy Aging. http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/146144

 

Duralde ER, Walter LC, Van Den Eeden SK, Nakagawa S, Subak LL, Brown JS, Thom DH, Huang AJ. Bridging the gap: determinants of undiagnosed or untreated urinary incontinence in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Feb;214(2):266.e1-266.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.08.072. Epub 2015 Sep 5. PMID: 26348382; PMCID: PMC4830485.

 

Holmes, N. (2026, February 13). Automated screening boosts urinary incontinence diagnosis in women. EMJ Urology. https://www.emjreviews.com/en-us/amj/urology/news/automated-screening-boosts-urinary-incontinence-diagnosis-in-women/