Relationship between Obesity and UTI in Children Under 2 Years of Age Admitted with Fever

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We observed an association between obesity and UTI in infants and pediatric patients, which we aimed to validate in this study. METHODS: The medical records of 740 patients (≤24 months old) hospitalized with fever were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were subdivided into 2 groups, namely, the UTI and control (non UTI) groups. We analyzed the patient's height, weight. Obesity was defined as weight-for-length ≥95(th) percentile, and the association between obesity and UTI was evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 740 patients, 253 and 487 patients were in the UTI group and the control group, respectively. A comparative analysis, based on 3 age groups (0–5 months, 6–11 months, and 12–24 months) showed higher proportion of obesity in the UTI group (26.4%) than in the control group (13.0%) in the 0–5 months group. After adjusting for age and gender in the 0–5 month group, the obesity group was 3.76 times likely to have an UTI (95% CI 1.419–9.98). CONCLUSION: Obesity and UTI show strong association, especially in infants aged 0–5 months. Febrile obese infant patients (≤5 months old) visiting medical centers should be advised urine tests for potential UTI.