SUMMARY Possible aetiological factors for urinary incontinence were examined in a prevalence study among a random sample of 1000 women aged 18 and over. Infective factors were not markedly associated with incontinence but mechanical factors such as parity and obesity were. No association was found, however, between a history of perineal damage at childbirth and incontinence. Women with incontinence had on average a higher score for a 'neuroticism' trait elicited by questionnaire than women without the disorder.Little is known with certainty about the causes of urinary incontinence in women but many associated and predisposing factors have been described.' Simple stress incontinence is said to be associated commonly with vaginal prolapse2 but factors related to urgency-associated incontinence are numerous.3 In the present study a questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers to a random sample of women from, the community. The prevalence and severity of the disorder has been reported previously' and in the present paper we report the findings relating to the aetiological hypotheses which were tested by the study. Mechanical factors Those likely to be associated with raised intra-abdominal pressure and lower-than-average perineal tone were examined Methods

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, viscosity, fibrinogen, and blood pressure were determined in 117 men aged 44 to 60 yr selected from the general population who also completed 7-day weighed dietary records. Associations between these measurements and a number of dietary factors were assessed by multiple regression analysis, allowing where necessary for the effects of age, body mass index, and smoking habit. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was associated positively with both alcohol and fish consumption and negatively with saturated fat intake. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol expressed as a percentage of total cholesterol was associated negatively with the percentage of energy from fat and positively with fish consumption. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was associated positively with the percentage of energy from fat and negatively with fish consumption. Fibrinogen and systolic blood pressure were inversely related to cereal fiber intake.

Data are presented relating to the nutritional status of over 1500 elderly subjects seen in three community surveys. There was s decline in weight, arm circumference and skinfold thickness, and to a lesser extent in Quetelet's index (weight + height2), with advancing age. Haemoglobin levels declined with age in one area but not in the others, probably due to differences in nutritional state. Plasma protein and albumin concentrations showed no decline with age and were similar to values reported from younger subjects. Men who ate alone tended to have a poorer vitamin C and thiamine status than men whose meals were cooked or shared by another person, but no such difference was found among women; indeed, women eating alone had significantly higher leucocyte ascorbic acid levels.

SUMMARY Dietary, social, and constitutional determinants of plasma concentrations of some major risk factors for ischaemic heart disease were investigated in a cross sectional study among 711 men from the general population aged 30-69. For high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) six variables were significantly associated with plasma concentrations, and these variables explained 12-6% of the variance. For low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (T-C), and triglyceride 8-4%, 7.5%, and 18-5% of the variance was explained by significantly associated variables. Fibrinogen concentrations determined chemically were significantly associated with age, smoking habit, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and intake of cereal fibre (24.2% variance). These data provide some encouragement for the possibility of dietary intervention to influence plasma concentrations of major risk factors for ischaemic heart disease in men.High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) has been rediscovered recently to be an important risk factor for ischaemic heart disease (IHD).'q Interest has focused also on coagulation factors4 in the aetiology of IHD. Little is known about the major determinants of these factors in plasma; the purpose of the present paper is to examine these in a prevalence study among a random sample of 711 men aged 30-69. Similar data for over 2000 men aged 45-59 will be available shortly.

Eight hundred and thirty elderly subjects who were seen in a nutritional survey were followed up after eight years. A marked decline of body weight with age, which had been evident in the original cross-sectional data, appeared to be due to a loss of weight in individuals rather than to any survival advantages of less obese persons. Indeed, over the age of 70 years the survivors tended to have been heavier when originally seen than those who died, suggesting that an above-average weight is a favourable prognostic factor in old age. There was a tendency for the women who died to have had lower ascorbic-acid levels than those who survived, but this was not obviously related to any one cause of death. Although it is possible that a poor vitamin C status increases mortality, the associations reported are probably due to the fact that elderly persons who are biologically younger than their contemporaries tend in consequence to be heavier and to have higher ascorbic acid levels and lower mortality rates than others of their chronological age.