Associations between Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis and Other Risk Factors in Women with a History of Urinary Tract Infections

Abstract

(1) Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among otherwise healthy women represent a problem that requires additional understanding and approaches. Evidencing the link between dysbiosis and UTIs and the associated potential risk factors could lead to therapeutic approaches with increased efficiency under the conditions of reducing the risks associated with antibiotic treatments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate dysbiosis and other potential risk factors in women with a history of urinary tract infections; (2) Methods: Fecal dysbiosis tests were performed comparatively in two groups of women. The first group in-cluded women with recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTI) who had either two or more symp-tomatic episodes of UTI in the previous six months. The second group included women with spo-radic UTIs who did not have >1 UTI during a 12-month period and who did not have another UTI in the last 12 months; (3) Results: An association was shown between intestinal dysbiosis and recurrences of urinary tract infections. Increased body weight was associated with intestinal dysbiosis. Also, the lack of knowledge regarding the risk of using antibiotics and the benefits of probiotics was associated with both dysbiosis and recurrences of urinary tract infections; (4) Conclusions: Dysbiosis can have an impact on the recurrence of urinary tract infections. The risk factors for rUTI and dysbiosis in the sphere of lifestyle are potentially controllable, broadening the perspective for new approaches and changing the paradigm in the treatment of urinary tract infections.

Keywords: dysbiosis; risk factors; urinary tract infections.

Figure 1

Topics and objectives of the rUTI management program.