Life time prevalence of urinary tract infections among health care workers and its association with sexual activity and their personal hygiene

Abstract

Sexual activity may be responsible for urinary tract infection in sexually active women. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers at teaching hospital, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka to obtain the prevalence of urinary tract infections among sexually active women and their practices. It was conducted over a three-month period. Pregnant women were excluded for the study sample and 110 subjects who had given written informed consent were given a questionnaire in their mother-tongue. Data was analyzed using SPSS, version 20 statistical software. Frequencies, Chi square test and descriptive analysis were used to analyze the results of this study. Of 110 subjects (age 30.8 ± 5.026 years), 63.6% had experienced urinary tract infection at least once in their lifetime. 18.57% of sexually active women had experienced urinary tract infection after the sexual activity. Majority of women (85.71%), who had experienced urinary tract infection, reported that they urinate following sexual activity. Most of them (92.85%) use soap when they wash their genital area. 43.07% use baby soap and the others use various kinds of soaps which are stronger detergent than baby soap. There is a significant association between presence of urinary tract infection and the type of soap used to clean genital area (p< 0.05). The vast majority (91.42%) of females who had ever had a urinary tract infection reported contacting a health professional about their most recent attack. Based on our findings, it was concluded that many subjects had experienced urinary tract infection at least once in their lifetime and 18.57% of sexually active women had experienced urinary tract infection after the sexual activity. Further studies should be continued over a large sample size.