Prevalence of urinary tract symptoms in long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus

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.