Who is more prone to recurrent UTIs? Bladder bacteria may be key
Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have identified specific bacteria in the bladder that may indicate which postmenopausal women are more susceptible to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), and they found that estrogen may play a role in reducing that susceptibility.
“We found a very strong association between beneficial bacteria in the bladder and the use of estrogen hormone therapy in postmenopausal women,” said Dr. Nicole De Nisco, assistant professor of biological sciences in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “Estrogen is important not just in regulating reproductive processes, but also in shaping the chemical environment of the entire body. When you lose that hormone, you lose all the benefits that it provides.”
De Nisco is the corresponding author of a study published online Sept. 30 and in the Oct. 18 print edition of Cell Reports Medicine. The researchers found robust correlations between so-called “good” bacteria and urinary estrogens in postmenopausal women without a history of UTIs.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common adult bacterial infections and impart a particularly significant medical burden on women, with more than 50% of women suffering a UTI in their lifetimes. Age is one of the strongest associated risk factors for UTIs.
Working with Dr. Philippe Zimmern, a professor of urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, the UTD research team tested 75 postmenopausal women who fell into three groups:
- Those who did not have a history of UTIs.
- Those who have recurrent UTIs and were experiencing one at the time of testing.
- Those who have recurrent UTIs but were not experiencing one at the time of testing.
Michael Neugent BS’13, MS’19, PhD’20, a postdoctoral fellow in De Nisco’s lab and first author of the article, said the research suggests that UTIs and estrogen shape the group of all microbes — called the microbiome — found in the urinary and genital tracts of postmenopausal women.
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