July 14, 2023

What to Know About Seniors and UTIs

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Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

a man's slippers in the hallway at night

Forgetting the names of loved ones, mistaking one’s location, and getting confused at nighttime – these can all be hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. But did you know that these symptoms may also be caused by a simple infection?

How UTIs affect seniors

Urinary tract infections often affect seniors far differently than they do younger adults. While both age groups generally experience discomfort and an urgent need to empty the bladder, seniors can also experience additional dementia-like symptoms.

“UTIs cause abnormal behavior symptoms in seniors. It can somewhat mimic Alzheimer’s-type psychosis,” explains Camille Jordan, R.N., and SVP of Clinical Services at Brookdale and co-author of a scientific journal article on the topic. “Seniors with UTIs may appear more confused, restless, anxious, and agitated.”

And beyond potentially having trouble thinking and behaving normally, seniors with UTIs may also be more prone to falling.

“Most people with UTIs experience urgency – and trying to rush to the bathroom while confused in the middle of the night can cause accidents, including incontinence and falls,” Jordan says.

Like many medical conditions, UTIs often prove more dangerous for older adults than younger adults. Seniors typically face more serious symptoms and may experience an increased fall risk when they contract UTIs. Moreover, seniors may face an increased risk of contracting UTIs in the first place. And of all seniors, women face the largest risk.

“Women are more susceptible than men to UTIs because of the changes in our vaginal structures as we age,” explains Jordan. “On average, 10% of women over age 65 will contract UTIs, but the number increases to 30% in women over 85,” she adds.

Young men are far less likely to contract UTIs at an average of 0.01 per person per year, but a study found that over 85, that number jumped to 0.08 per person per year for men.

UTIs are one of the most commonly diagnosed infections in older adults, and one study found UTIs occurring second only to respiratory infections in community-dwelling adults over 65.

How UTIs are treated in seniors

UTIs, like many common bacterial infections, are ordinarily treated with easily accessible antibiotics. But even though this might sound like an easy fix, there may be more to the matter than meets the eye when it comes to long-term antibiotic use.

Ongoing antibiotic use may cause more harm than good, according to Jordan. “One, it sets up a resistance – typically the bacteria becomes not susceptible to the antibiotic.” And,“[t]wo, it messes up the gut bacteria, which can cause secondary conditions such as c-difficile, a bacterial infection whose most common symptom is diarrhea that typically occurs after the use of antibiotic medications,” Jordan continues, “So you end up giving them a secondary type of issue that requires additional treatment.”

So, what else can help prevent chronic UTIs?

“The biggest key for seniors is hydration,” advises Jordan. Seniors often don’t drink a lot of water, so “ensuring that they stay well-hydrated is the biggest key,” Jordan says, “as well as incontinence management and good perineal care.”

How to detect UTIs in seniors

As discussed, to an untrained eye, a senior suffering from a simple, passing bladder infection could be mistaken for a senior suffering from a much more permanent condition, such as Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia. For that reason, caregivers and family members alike need to understand the determining factors.

“When determining the presence of a UTI, Brookdale care associates look at the physical as well as the cognitive,” explains Jordan.

Checking to see if a senior’s incontinence has increased, if they have to go to the bathroom more, and if their urine has a strong odor or is cloudy in appearance, says Jordan, are key ways to help differentiate this easily-treated virus from progressive changes in behavior and cognition.

If you would like to learn more about the biggest issues affecting senior health and wellness, read all about them on our Health, Safety, and Wellness blog.

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