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Weight loss may prevent leaky bladder in diabetes

Reuters Health News, 2012

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight women with diabetes may be able to cut their risk of urine leakage if they shed some pounds, a new study suggests.
And some studies have found that when overweight women drop even a modest amount of weight, they can curb their risk of incontinence.
Type 2 diabetes, which often goes hand-in-hand with obesity, is also a risk factor for urine leakage, regardless of weight.
So weight loss could be especially helpful for heavy women with diabetes -- but studies hadn't looked at the question until now.
In the new study, researchers found that overweight diabetic women who took up diet and exercise changes lost an average of 17 pounds over a year.
Over a year, 10.5 percent of women in the diet-and-exercise group developed new problems with urine leakage.
"Overweight and obese women with type 2 diabetes should consider weight loss as a way to reduce their risk of developing urinary incontinence," lead researcher Suzanne Phelan, of California Polytechnic State University, told Reuters Health by email.
And of course, she added, there are already known benefits of shedding those extra pounds -- like better diabetes control and a lower risk of heart disease.
The findings, reported in the Journal of Urology, are based on 2,739 middle-aged and older women who were part of a larger diabetes study.
Overall, women in the lifestyle group had a lower rate of urinary incontinence over the next year.
On the other hand, weight loss did not seem to help women who already had urine leakage problems at the study's start.