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Background: urinary incontinence carries major social burden and considerable costs for health care systems.

Objective: the aim of this study was to investigate changes in continence status among a large cohort of older women, and to identify factors associated with incidence of incontinence in later life.

Subjects: participants of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health (ALSWH), aged 70–75 years in 1996 and who have completed four health surveys over the past 10 years.

Methods: continence status across four survey periods, spanning 9 years, were defined according to women's reports of ‘leaking urine’ at each survey. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) models were used in longitudinal analyses of the factors associated with changing continence status over time.

Results: this study presents longitudinal data on the prevalence and incidence …