OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between obesity and febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) in young children.
METHODS: We reviewed all medical records of children aged < 3 years who visited our institution for febrile UTIs and infant national health checkups (controls) between January 2008 and February 2012. All subjects were subcategorized into 3 groups of lean, overweight, and obese using weight-for-length measurements. The effect of obesity on UTI risk was evaluated and odds ratios were calculated.
RESULTS: We analyzed 465 patients with UTIs and 812 controls. The proportion of overweight and obese children was higher in patients with UTIs (22.8%) and acute pyelonephritis (APN; 31.1%) compared with those in the control (11.7%; P < .05). After adjusting for age and gender, the odds ratio (OR) of UTI in obese relative to lean children was 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11-3.05) and that of APN was 2.43 (95% CI, 1.27-4.62). The OR of APN in overweight relative to lean children was 1.96 (95% CI, 1.11-3.46). After adjusting for age, the OR of APN in obese relative to lean boys was 2.74 (95% CI, 1.11-6.77) and that in overweight to lean girls was 2.48 (95% CI, 1.05-5.83). Within patients with UTIs, compared with lean children, the obese showed a longer duration of fever and a higher frequency of APN and the overweight had a higher incidence of hydronephrosis (P < .05).
CONCLUSION: Obesity may be associated with higher odds of a febrile UTI and APN in young children.
Written by:
Yang TH, Yim HE, Yoo KH. Are you the author?
Department of Pediatrics, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
Reference: Urology. 2014 Aug;84(2):445-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2014.03.032
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24824410