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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk factors for urinary tract infections include:
- Being female. UTIs are common in women, and many women experience more than one infection. Women have a shorter urethra than men do, which cuts down on the distance that bacteria must travel to reach a woman's bladder.
- Being sexually active. Sexually active women tend to have more UTIs than do women who aren't sexually active.
- Using certain types of birth control. Women who use diaphragms for birth control also may be at higher risk, as may women who use spermicidal agents.
- Completing menopause. After menopause, UTIs may become more common because the lack of estrogen causes changes in the urinary tract that make it more vulnerable to infection.
- Having urinary tract abnormalities. Babies born with urinary tract abnormalities that don't allow urine to leave the body normally or cause urine to back up in the urethra have an increased risk of UTIs.
- Having blockages in the urinary tract. Kidney stones or an enlarged prostate can trap urine in the bladder and increase the risk of UTI.
- Having a suppressed immune system. Diabetes and other diseases that impair the immune system — the body's defense against germs — can increase the risk of UTIs.
- Using a catheter to urinate. People who can't urinate on their own and use a tube (catheter) to urinate have an increased risk of UTIs. This may include people who are hospitalized, people with neurological problems that make it difficult to control their ability to urinate and people who are paralyzed.
References
- Wein AJ, et al. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1445/0.html. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Urinary tract infection in adults. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/KUDiseases/pubs/utiadult/index.aspx. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Lentz GM, et al. Comprehensive Gynecology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-0-323-06986-1&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-06986-1..C2009-0-48752-X--TOP. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Urinary tract infections in children. American Urological Association Foundation. http://www.urologyhealth.org/urology/index.cfm?article=46. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- McPherson RA, et al. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1393/0.html. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Hooton TM. Recurrent urinary tract infection in women. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Wang CH, et al. Cranberry-containing products for prevention of urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2012;172:988.
- Cranberry. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed July 19, 2012.
- Jepson RG, et al. Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub4/abstract. Accessed July 31, 2012.
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