of 60 years are twice as likely as men to experience incontinence; one in three women over the age of 60 years are estimated to have bladder control problems. one reason why women are more affected is the weakening of pelvic floor muscles by pregnancy. men men tend to experience incontinence less often than women, and the structure of the male urinary tract accounts for this difference. stress incontinence is common after prostate cancer treatments. while urinary incontinence affects older men more often than younger men, the onset of incontinence can happen at any age. estimates around 2007 suggested that 17 percent of men over age 60, an estimated 600,000 men in the us, experienced urinary incontinence, with this percentage increasing with age. children incontinence happens less often after age 5: about 10 percent of 5-year-olds, 5 percent of 10-year-olds, and 1 percent of 18-year-olds experience episodes of incontinence. it is twice as common in girls as in boys. history the management of urinary incontinence with pads is mentioned in the earliest medical book known, the ebers papyrus (1500 bc). incontinence has historically been a taboo subject in western culture. however, this situation changed some when kimberly-clark aggressively marketed adult diapers in the 1980s with actor june allyson as spokeswoman. allyson was initially reticent to participate, but her mother, who had incontinence, convinced her that it was her duty in light of her successful career. the product proved a success. law the case hiltibran et al v. levy et al in the united states district court for the western district of missouri resulted in that court issuing an order in 2011. that order requires incontinence briefs funded by medicaid to be given by missouri to adults who would be institutionalized without them. research the effectiveness of different therapeutic approaches to treating urinary incontinence is not well studied for some medical conditions. for example, for people who experience urinary incontinence due to stroke, treatment approaches such as physical therapy, cognitive therapy, complementary medicine, and specialized interventions with experienced medical professionals are sometimes suggested, however it is not clear how effective these are at improving incontinence and there is no strong medical evidence to guide clinical practice.