Urinary Tract Infection Among Women
Cassidie Higbee, Toni Nigos, and Anonymous
Department of Sociology,
College of Southern Nevada
SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology
Professor Flora E. Rudacille
December 7, 2025
Even though UTI’s can be transmitted into men. We can regularly see that this disease is more prominent in women. The reason being is simply because of the biology of a woman's body over a man's body. There are certain biological factors in a woman that make them more vulnerable to getting a UTI in their system of urinary tracts. For example, according to studies from (Springer Nature, 2025) a woman’s urethra is shorter, which overall makes the urinary tract system in their bodies more vulnerable to any kind of bacteria to enter that part of their system. One of the main ways it can be transmitted in that way is usually through sexual-intercourse, also certain hygiene products in that area that are used excessively. Because of the fact that women's biological factors are weaker to bacteria, these causes and many more can transmit diseases causing UTIs more often for men. The age group that can be most affected by this disease would be elderly women. Because not only are their urinary tracts already weak, but because of their age. They are experiencing lower estrogen levels due to menopause. Which can cause the breaking down of the urinary tract as a whole, making the cause for UTIs even more vulnerable for them. However it can actually be harder to identify a UTI in older women. Because of the fact that they have risks of higher bacteria in their urinary tract. It overcomplicates identifying what symptoms are from a UTI, and what symptoms are from other bacterias that are in the urinary tract. According to (MDPI, 2025) studies normally UTIs are defined by something called a dipstick. The dipstick is supposed to soak up your urine, and it detects bacteria called leukocyte and nitrites in the urine. But it is specifically meant for the younger generation, and the results that are for older patients tend to not be as accurate. There is also a secondary infection called the recurrent urinary tract infection (RUTI). Which is basically where you get a UTI consistently, specifically 1 every 12-13 months. According to (Andrew Flower, 2014), when this disease is consistent it can give us a higher risk of health problems which leads to an increase in the cost of healthcare for the individual. It can start to impact our daily lives in ways that we wouldn’t expect. For example it can cause irritability, tiredness, and finding it harder to concentrate. Which can disrupt a bunch of important things in the day life of a woman.
Infectious disease research expands across both bacterial and viral areas, and the articles referred illustrate the challenges faced in this specific clinical practice. It examines the recent developments in understanding UTIS highlighting the growing complications presented by antibiotic resistance and prostate related risk-factors. This shifts the focus toward HIV prevention, mentioning how young gay and bisexual men evaluate different exposure preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery methods and how their preferences shape real world strategies that may be prevented. Although bringing these issues together, analyzing UTI management specifically in men in which a population bacterial and viral concerns interrelate.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in men despite being less common than in women as they present clear challenges due to urogenital anatomy and frequent involvement of the prostate. According to a review covering advances in UTI and bacterial prostatitis, male risk factors include prostate enlargement BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and urological procedures such as transrectal prostate biopsy. The article also emphasizes the antiseptic properties of prostate secretions, including a potential defensive role for PSA (prostate-specific antigen) which may be key to preventing recurrent infections, highlighting a biological mechanism beyond just basic structural risk factors.
The management of UTIs and prostatitis in men is increasingly complicated by rising antibiotic resistance. In this report it notes underlining that the growth of fluoroquinolone resistance that’s linked to more common post-biopsy infections and recurrent UTIs, according to the same analysis suggesting that traditional antibiotic based treatments may not be adequate going forward in the future. In the article it quotes “The increasing global antibiotic resistance also significantly affects management UTI in men and calls for alternative strategies.”(Wagenlehner P.2, 2014) The author recommends that such studies investigate different strategies such as focusing on bacterial reservoirs in the mucosa of the bladder wall or other new therapies guided by a deeper understanding of the disease. However some believe a few participants expressed worries about potential negative effects and reduced safety if you miss prescriptions, pointing out the need for clear communication and secure information.
The last study “Urinary tract infections in male veterans with human immunodeficiency virus” examined if the outcomes of treatment or patterns for UTIs differ between male veterans with or without HIV. It’s analyzed “we utilized 2009 Veterans Affair (VA) administrative data to compare the treatment duration and outcome for men.” (Caitlin P.3, ) This importantly described that shorter therapy defined as 7 days or less did not lead to increased recurrence compared with longer courses, it suggests that longer treatment may not always be necessary. These findings challenge any assumption that men with HIV require antibiotics for regimens in UTIs.
The field of infectious disease faces a more complicated environment that is molded by both enduring bacteria risks and developing virus avoidance methods. It demonstrates how prostate-related vulnerability and growing antibiotic resistance continue to make treating infections in men more difficult. It’s shown that medical treatments are only effective when they’re consistent with the patient’s needs and lifestyle, illustrating the importance of adapting preventive measures to real-world behaviors. All these resources highlight the need for patientcentered and scientifically informed treatment of the diseases and the advanced knowledge of human behavior. Healthcare systems may only address the problems that present viral diseases through using a comprehensive policy.
The text highlights The use of biomarkers, describing it as “a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention” Using these devices in screenings, diagnosis, or monitoring the disease’s activity as a whole. Additionally they may help Clinicians select appropriate Therapies or gauge therapeutic responses. UTI's rank among one of the most prevalent bacterial infections among females, therefor the use of Biomarkers is crucial in helping define the issue and provide treatment. Despite an extraordinary amount of research, the identification of new UTI biomarkers has remained elusive, and very little recent research, if any, has translated into something valuable for patient care. This is partly because of the unique challenges that complicate UTI biomarker development. The text emphasizes the need to address the utilization of these devices to help improve the UTI diagnosis process.
This article describes how recurrent urinary tract infections are a problem affecting both women and men, and how there has been experiments conducted that prove different strains might help prevent them. For example there is an experiment conducted in which the effects of pravastatin was assessed on adults with ongoing UTI prescriptions. An analysis was conducted Using trials among participants randomized to receive pravastatin, fosinopril or a placebo over a course of 4 years. The data shows that, “pravastatin was associated with a reduced total number of UTI antibiotic prescriptions (relative risk, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21–0.88) and occurrence of second UTI antibiotic prescriptions [hazard ratio (HR), 0.25; 95% CI, 0.08–0.77]” as well as, “. Fosinopril was associated with an increased occurrence of first UTI antibiotic prescriptions (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.16–2.88).” This shows that People taking pravastatin had 57% fewer antibiotic prescriptions as well as among the people who had already had one UTI in a biotic prescription those taking pravastatin or 75% less likely to need a second prescription over time. the people taking Faustino prayer over 82% more likely to need an antibiotic for a UTI compared with people not taking it. Considering the data the study suggests Strains exert a higher effect on recurrent UTIs than on first UTIs.
Within this text the author goes into detail about how UTI’s are transmitted and the effects they can have on the body, especially on post-menopausal women. The text highlights the fact that menopausal women are a significant Demographic of those who have been affected by UTI’S, representing a considerable proportion of the adult female population within the U.S. Going into detail about this understudied group, the study aims to quantify the risk of UTIs within them specifically. For example Group Health organizations have involved themselves in the study in which they have used cox proportional Hazard models to analyze the risk factors in order to reach a better outcome for these women. Results within one of the first studies state, “ testing positive for any of the five sexually transmitted infections was 12 times more common among female enrollees ages 15-24 compared to women £55 (1020.41 versus 85.44 per 100,000 respectively).” This concludes that sexual intercourse is an important risk factor for urinary tract infection in post-menopausal women.
When the case happens where you have a consistent occurrence of a UTI, some turn to a very last resort. This is called a bladder neck closure, which is where they remove and close up the urethra. However in a study done by (Wada Naoki, 2025) there was a case study done on a man with the disease. The results ended up being a failure. Not only was there no improvement on curing the disease, but it even made it worse. So this procedure can help, but also cause worse symptoms upon the original disease.
References
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Biguenet, A., Champy, E., Gilis, M., Gbaguidi-Haore, H., Patry, I., Bouiller, K., & Bertrand, X. (2025). Urine flow cytometry in older adults urinary tract infection diagnosis: Is it time to reevaluate thresholds for men and women? BMC Geriatrics, 25, 1-10.
Eccles-Radtke, C., Rector, T. S., Cutting, A., & Drekonja, D. M. (2014). Urinary tract infections in male veterans with human immunodeficiency virus. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 1(3)
Flower, A., Bishop, F. L., & Lewith, G. (2014). How women manage recurrent urinary tract infections: An analysis of postings on a popular web forum. BMC Family Practice, 15, 162.
Hill-Rorie, J., Biello, K. B., Quint, M., Johnson, B., Elopre, L., Johnson, K., . . . Mayer, K. H. (2024). Weighing the options: Which PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) modality attributes influence choice for young gay and bisexual men in the United States? AIDS and Behavior, 28(9), 2970-2978.
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