Women who are over the age of 65 appear to face an increased risk of persistent urinary incontinence following a procedure to fit a transobturator tape.

The device is a narrow strip of synthetic mesh that can be placed in the vagina to support the urethra (the tube that connects the bladder to the genitals).

It is sometimes used to correct stress urinary incontinence and tends to be effective in 80 to 90 per cent of cases.

Scientists at the National Medical Centre in Seoul, South Korea, carried out a study to identify factors that may influence women's chances of persistent incontinence following this type of procedure.

They studied 175 patients, all of whom had a transobturator tape fitted between May 2007 and August 2010 to address a combination of stress and urge adult incontinence.

Analysis revealed that 29.1 per cent continued to need incontinence supplies following the procedure and that the likelihood of this outcome was greater with increased age.

Publishing their findings in the Korean Journal of Urology, they concluded: "Our findings suggest that women who are older than 65 years may have an increased likelihood of persistent urge urinary incontinence after a transobturator tape procedure."