Association Between Elevated HbA1c Levels and Urinary Tract Infection Among Diabetic Women

Abstract

Background: Urinary tract infection is one of the common clinical sequelae of diabetes mellitus. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of poor glycaemic control as determined by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels on the prevalence of urinary tract infections among diabetic women. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 50 non-pregnant diabetic women attending the diabetes clinic of Nena hospital, Abuja, Nigeria were included as subjects and 25 age and sex-matched apparently healthy individuals were included as controls. Results: Mean HbA1c levels in diabetic women were significantly higher than in healthy controls (7.29±2.4% vs. 4.5±1.8%) (P<0.001). The prevalence of poor glycaemic control was high; 19 (38%) and UTI was significantly more prevalent in DM patients with poor glycaemic control than in subjects with good glycaemic control 14 (77.8%) vs. 4 (22.2%) (P<0.001). Conclusions: HbA1c values showing poor glycaemic control may be a proxy indicator for screening for UTI among women with diabetes mellitus.