Perineal Anatomy and Urine-Voiding Characteristics of Young Women with and without Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

We evaluated the association of specific perineal anatomic factors and urine-voiding characteristics with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in young college women. Subjects were eligible for inclusion if they were healthy nonpregnant women aged 18–30 years with no known abnormalities of the urinary tract. Case subjects had had ≥3 UTIs in the past 12 months or ≥2 UTIs in the past 6 months, whereas control subjects had had no UTI in the past year and no more than 1 UTI in any previous year. Case subjects were identified through a monthly computer search of patient-encounter forms, and medical records were reviewed for information on UTI diagnoses. Control subjects were randomly selected each month from the pool of age-eligible women who had attended the student health clinic in the past 12 months.