Purpose: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second-most-common type of infection in China. This study aimed to determine the long-term trends in the incidence of UTI in Mainland China between 1990 and 2019.
Materials and Methods: Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 and were analyzed with the age–period–cohort framework.
Results: The net drift in the incidence of UTI was – 0.37% (95% CI: – 0.40%, – 0.35%) in males and – 0.25% (95% CI: – 0.29%, – 0.20%) in females. For males, the local drift was lower than 0 (P< 0.05) among those younger than 90 years. For females, the local drift was lower than 0 (P< 0.05) among those younger than 60 years and higher than 0 (P< 0.05) in those aged 65– 79 years. In the same birth cohort, the incidence of UTI was higher in females than in males in all age groups (P< 0.05). The period relative risk (RR) showed a decreasing pattern after 2005 in both sexes. The cohort RR showed a downward trend of the birth cohort after 1905 for males and 1960 for females.
Conclusion: The incidence has increased significantly among older females over the past 30 years. It is necessary to develop a comprehensive intervention plan for reproductive health services covering females and males of all ages.
Keywords: age–period–cohort analysis, urinary tract infection, bacterial infection