DOCTORAL THESIS. In a unique Gothenburg study, women with renal damage caused by urinary tract infections in childhood have been followed 35 years after their first urinary tract infection. A new thesis from Sahlgrenska Academy shows that these women have higher blood pressure and reduced renal function in adulthood.
Long-term follow-up studies of women with renal damage caused by urinary tract infections in childhood is rare. In a study at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, 86 women with a median age of 41 years have now been reinvestigated, 35 years after they had their first urinary tract infection in childhood.
High blood pressure
The study focused on development of high blood pressure, reduction in renal function and complications during pregnancy – all well-known risks of urinary tract infection associated renal damage.
The results show that women with renal damage caused by urinary tract infections in childhood have higher blood pressure and reduced renal function compared to women without renal damage.
Investigated earlier
Women with renal damage also had significantly higher blood pressure during pregnancy, but no increased risk of complications, such as preeclampsia. For those women who had experienced multiple febrile urinary tract infections in childhood, the frequency decreased with age.
“The same women were investigated 15 years earlier, at the median age 27 years, at which time the blood pressure increase was not as obvious nor was any severe reduction in renal function noted,” says Carin Gebäck, PhD student at Sahlgrenska Academy.
Future follow-up programs
The results of the study will be of significance in designing future follow-up programs for children with renal damage caused by urinary tract infections.
“Monitoring blood pressure and renal function in adulthood should be considered for these children, as should extra blood pressure monitoring during pregnancy,” says Carin Gebäck.
The thesis Long-term follow-up of adult women with urinary tract infection in childhood was defended on March 2.
