More than four-fifths of people with urge incontinence rely on their incontinence pads at least once a week, a survey involving over 1,000 patients has found.

According to research presented at the International Continence Society meeting in Glasgow and reported by Nursing Times, 82 per cent of surveyed patients with urge incontinence due to overactive bladder said they experienced leakage once a week or more.

For these patients, leakage was cited as the most annoying symptom of their overactive bladder condition.

Fifty-three per cent of overactive bladder patients with urge incontinence said the condition had a significant impact on their quality of life, compared with just 42 per cent of patients without urge incontinence.

In addition, 51 per cent of people with incontinence said it affected their ability to enjoy activities outside the home, while 40 per cent said it had hurt their self-esteem.

Marcus Drake, consultant urological surgeon at Bristol Urological Institute, told the Nursing Times: "It is moving to hear from the patients themselves how stressful and limiting this condition is on their everyday functioning.

"This survey highlights to all of us, particularly the physicians, how important it is to work with patients to agree their treatment goals and manage their treatment expectations."

Research presented at the annual meeting also revealed that a therapy called fesoterodine may be beneficial for older people with overactive bladder, a condition that often causes people to rely on incontinence pads, such as Tena Slip Maxi or Tena Flex Maxi.