Ready to be terrified? According to research published in the October issue of the urology journal BJUI, nearly half of the world’s adults over the tender age of 20 will experience a urinary tract infection before the year 2018 rolls around, only a little over six years away. Half of the world’s adult population, an estimated 2.3 billion people, will become brothers and sisters in urinary tract nuisance.
A team of researchers gathered information from a 2008 survey, using data on gender and age from the US Census Bureau International Data Base and a cross-sectional telephone survey that covered around 19,000 participants across five countries. The team and the study’s lead author Dr. Debora Irwin extrapolated the data to cover estimates for 2013 and 2018 for lower urinary tract symptoms, lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of bladder outlet obstruction, overactive bladder, and urinary incontinence. The results are nothing short of terrifying, if you’re afraid of being the proud owner of an infected urinary tract, of course.
The estimated numbers found that lower urinary tract infections will have increased to 46% amongst adults by 2018, affecting 47% of women and 45% of men. Between 2008 and 2018, the number of people to have experienced at least one lower urinary tract symptom will have increased by 18%, with Africa counting for the largest increase of 30%, followed by South America with a 20.5% increase, Asia with a 20% increase, and North America and Europe with a 16% and 2.5% increase, respectively.
By 2018, the prevalence of overactive bladder will have increased by 20%, affecting 546 million people, while urinary incontinence will have increased by 22%, affecting 423 million people. The big winner, lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of bladder outlet obstruction, will have increased by 18.5%, affecting 1.1 billion people.
Dr. Irwin on the matter:
“We believe that our study underlines the clear and urgent need to improve the awareness, prevention, diagnosis and management of these conditions.
International and national programmes that increase public awareness, educate clinicians and implement public health campaigns that tackle the social stigma of LUTS, will be a significant step towards reaching this objective.
These public health programmes would need to be adapted by region, because countries often differ in their healthcare resources, treatment guidelines and social perceptions.”
As a bonus, the study also found that incontinence will increase as well! There’s so much to look forward to!
(via Medical Xpress)
