Quality of Life in Women With Urinary Tract Infections: Is Benign Disease a Misnomer?

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to undertake an exploratory evaluation of quality-of-life indicators for women suffering from urinary tract infections. METHODS: The RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0 (SF-36) was administered to 47 women with a diagnosed urinary tract infection who were being cared for in the Family Medicine Center, Student Health Services, or Urology Outpatient Clinic. A control population of 71 women was obtained from the female members of an undergraduate geography class, a community basketball league, and a local women's choir. RESULTS: All subsections of the SF-36 quality-of-life indices were significantly decreased in the subject population compared with the control population (lower score indicates lower quality of life): patient general health perception (63.3 vs 78.9, P < .001) physical functioning (76.6 vs 87.6, P = .012), role limitation owing to physical health (53.8 vs 93.0, P < .001) and emotional health (67.4 vs 88.3, P < .001), vitality (43.0 vs 64.9, P < .001), emotional well-being (64.4 vs 80.2, P < .001), pain (58.7 vs 91.5, P < .001), and social functioning (60.4 vs 90.4. P < .001). CONCLUSION: Suffering from an urinary tract infection has a detrimental influence on patient quality of life. The effect of urinary tract infections on women and their perception of quality of life have not been hitherto reported in the medical literature. The significant findings in this study call into question whether acute, non-life-threatening illness should be regarded as benign.

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