Genes are not the sole factor in determining one’s susceptibility to urinary incontinence. Factors such as “old age, excess weight, pregnancy and childbirth, as well as stroke and other neurological disorders” can cause urinary incontinence.
Gynecologist Anna Lena Wennberg, one of the study’s researchers, collaborated with the Swedish Twin Registry at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The study, published in European Urology, looked at 25K+ Swedish twins aged 20 to 46. The study analyzed data regarding “urinary incontinence, overactive bladder and other lower urinary tract symptoms.”
The study found that genes can explain about “50% of people’s susceptibility to urinary incontinence.” “Around a third (34%) of the variation has a genetic explanation for nighttime urination, known as nocturia.
