Mortality in relation to urinary characteristics in the very aged.

The value of urinary characteristics observed in a health survey of people aged 85 years or more was studied in a 5-year follow-up. Of the 561 aged people participating in the initial survey, 167 (30%) were alive after 5 years. Hematuria, pyuria, and albuminuria were associated with high mortality; urinary acidity was associated with low mortality. Positive bacterial staining, glucosuria, and specific gravity of urine were not related to the survival rate. Contrary to earlier observations, bacteriuria found in the urinary bacterial culture did not have any prognostic significance in respect of survival during the follow-up period. Judging from the results, the medical treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria, with the aim of reducing the mortality of the very aged, appears to be unwarranted.