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To assess the impact of urinary incontinence (UI) on health outcomes over the entire spectrum of acute stroke severity (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] scores: 0–42), due to a paucity of data on patients with milder strokes.

Data were prospectively collected (2014–2016) from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (1593 men, 1591 women; mean [SD] age 76.8 [13.3] years) admitted to four UK hyperacute stroke units (HASUs). Relationships between variables were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Data were adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, pre‐stroke disability and intra‐cranial haemorrhage, and presented as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.

Amongst patients with no symptoms or a minor stroke (NIHSS scores of 0–4), compared to patients without UI, patients with UI had significantly greater risks of poor outcomes …