Urinary tract infection among clean-room workers

Many high-tech industries do some manufacturing processes in clean-rooms to ensure high quality and yield. To prevent contamination, workers need to put on special clothing and go through certain cleaning procedures before entry. Therefore, some workers may limit their water intake and try not to go the bathroom, which are both risk factors of urinary tract infection (UTI). To assess the prevalence and risk factors of UTI among the workers, we conducted a study in an industrial park. We recruited workers who came to the clinic in the park for an annual health examination between September 1 and December 31, 2000. From each participant we collected a urine sample and obtained related information through a questionnaire. All the 1,054 qualified workers, including 416 men and 638 women, participated, and 693 (65.7%) were clean-room workers. Most clean-room workers were women (71.3%), and they tended to be younger and had lower frequencies of drinking water and going to the bathroom during the shift. A higher prevalence of UTI (6.2% vs. 2.5%, p = 0.008) was observed among clean-room workers. After adjusting for age, frequency of dinking water, and working in clean-rooms, female gender was a significant risk factor (odds ratio [OR] = 18.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.1 to 82.1) and going to the bathroom three times or more during a shift was a protective factor (OR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1 to 1.0). In conclusion, UTI is prevalent among clean-room workers, and frequent voiding is recommended for prevention of the disease.