FIRST TIME URINARY-TRACT INFECTION AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR

We studied the relation between sexual and health behaviors of women a nd first time urinary tract infection (UTI). The study population was women using a university health service who were unmarried, had no UTI history, and who had engaged in sexual activity at least once. We fou nd 86 cases of UTI, defined as one or more urinary symptoms and greate r than or equal to 1,000 colony-forming units per mi urine of a known pathogen. We randomly sampled 288 controls from the student body. Vagi nal intercourse increased the risk of UTI; this risk was further incre ased with condom use. After adjusting for vaginal intercourse with oth er birth control methods and recentness of current sexual partnership, a single sex act with a condom in the past 2 weeks increased Un risk by 43%. Having a sex partner for less than 1 year vs 1 year or more, a fter adjustment for frequency of vaginal intercourse and birth control method, was associated with about twice the risk of UTI [odds ratio ( OR) = 1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04-3.74]. After adjusting for frequency of vaginal intercourse, regular drinking of cranberry j uice was protective against UTI (OR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.19-1.02), where as drinking carbonated soft drinks appeared to be associated with incr eased risk (OR = 2.37; 95% CI = 0.75-7.81). Using deodorant sanitary n apkins or tampons was associated with a slight increase in risk of UTI (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 0.74-3.06). Blacks had five times greater risk o f UTI than whites after adjusting for frequency of vaginal intercourse (OR = 5.2; 95% CI = 1.89-24.63). We observed only modest differences in health behavior between racial groups.