Urinary tract infections are on the rise globally

SALT LAKE  CITY — A National Library of Medicine study showed that urinary tract infections rose by more than 60% worldwide from 1990 to 2019.

According to Dr. Jose Rodriguez, a University of Utah physician, an additional increase has been noted since the pandemic. 

Additionally, UTI cases have always been higher in underserved populations.

“Women have traditionally had higher incidents of UTIs than men,” said Rodriguez. “That’s because of anatomy more than anything else.”

According to Dr. Rodriguez, UTIs can happen in people with healthy immune systems. However, those who are immunocompromised may be at more of a risk. 

“UTIs happen in people who have diabetes and people who have prediabetes, and those things come from inactivity,” Dr. Rodriguez said.

Additionally, the number of antibiotic-resistant cases of UTI is also rising.

“As patients, we’ve got to be sure that we’re taking the antibiotics until they’re done, not until we feel better,” said Rodriguez.

Dr. Rodriguez said if a patient doesn’t take the full dose of antibiotics, the bacteria that survive learn how to resist and become harder to kill.

Don Brinkerhoff is a reporter and producer for KSL NewsRadio.

Related: Could a proposed kidney donation tax credit have unintended consequences? One transplant expert says yes

Follow @KSLdbrinkerhoff