title: Prevalence of urinary tract symptoms in long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary tract symptoms in a population-based cohort of 109 young adult patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus with onset at < 16 years versus 208 sex- and age-matched controls. A validated postal questionnaire was used (response rate 87.2% in diabetic patients vs 77.4% in controls). Diabetic female patients had been treated more often than controls with antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTI): 35/48 and 39/82 respectively; p < 0.01. Diabetic female patients with HbA1c > 9.0% did not have significantly more treated UTIs than those with HbA1c < or = 9.0%. Diabetic female patients had more social problems than controls in daily life because of urinary tract problems (11/48 and 3/82 respectively; p < 0.005) and used clamps to prevent wetting more often than did controls (5/48 vs 1/82, p < 0.05), whereas diabetic male patients never used condoms to prevent wetting. In conclusion, female but not male diabetic patients with long-standing Type 1 diabetes mellitus had increased frequency of treated UTIs. Urinary tract problems also interfered with normal social activities in female diabetic patients who had a greater need for clamps to prevent wetting.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Internal Medicine, Orebro Medical Centre Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ingberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schvarcz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aman
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin