Urinary tract infections peak during summer, thanks to dehydration, as there are insufficient fluids in the body to flush out the bladder. Several million people suffer from UTI each year, but only a small fraction of severe cases require hospitalisation. Over the years UTI hospitalisations have doubled among women compared to men, which could be due to increasing bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
The prevalence of bacteriuria in young women is 30 times more than in men. Thus, less than 1 per cent of males younger than 50 suffer from UTI.
Half of all women experience UTI at some point, with many having repeated bouts — 53 % of those over 55 years and 36 per cent of younger women report a recurrence within one year, according to a review in the British Journal of Family Medicine.
Decrease in male and female ratio above 65
However, with increasing age, the ratio of women to men with bacteriuria progressively decreases. At least 20 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men older than 65 years have bacteriuria and symptomatic.
Men above 50 years suffer from UTIs
Urinary tract infections are rare in adult males before 50, but there is an increase in incidence thereafter owing to anatomic abnormalities, urinary dribbling, slow stream and inflammation of bladder. Other common forms of UTI in males include involvement of prostate (prostatitis), swelling in testicles, scrotum, varying degrees of involvement of kidneys (pyelonephritis) presenting as flan pain, fever, vomiting, feeling low or uneasy, renal abscess and severe septic shock.
Due to increasing prevalence of diabetes among elderly men, there is an increase in urinary tract infections. Dr Sanjay Sinha , senior consultant urologist and transplant surgeon at Apollo Hospitals says, “Diabetics with poor control of sugar are prone to urinary infections and are on antibiotics to control the same. For effective action of antibiotics it is important to keep the kidney in good condition.”
- Dr Sanjay Sinha
Half of women suffer from UTIs
The most common form of UTI is cystitis or inflammation of the lining of the bladder that makes one want to urinate frequently, along with burning and pain while voiding, dull pain in the lower abdomen, and cloudy, bloody or odd-smelling urine. The most common bacteria linked to UTI is Escherichia coli (E. coli), responsible for up to 90 per cent of infections. The bacteria is found naturally in the gut but the problem occurs if they enter the urethra.
Other bacteria including klebsiella and enterococcus faecalis are becoming increasingly antibiotic-resistant. Dr Sanand Bag, senior urologist and kidney transplant surgeon at Yashoda Hospitals says, “Women are more prone to infections because of shorter urethras and the bladder becomes more susceptible to invasion by bacteria. Urinary tract infections spike in the summer and there is also increase in hospitalisation. Researchers looked at the seasonal effect and found that women aged between 18 to 44 years were more prone to infections during this time and the reason was dehydration.”
- Dr Sanand Bag
Preventive measures
Drink plenty of water (4-5 litres) to hydrate the body, producing about 2 to 3.5 litres of urine that flushes the bacteria of the urinary bladder.
Carbonated drinks make urine alkaline and reduce burning, but does not correct dehydration, thus can be harmful (without water intake).
Tea and coffee usually eliminate thirst and thus prevent adequate water intake, thus should be avoided during summer.
Cranberry juice contains chemicals that prevents bacterial adhesion to lining of urethra and bladder.
Drinking one glass of cranberry juice daily or supplement of cranberry extracts have shown to prevent recurrent UTI due to E. coli.
