Ask The Doctor: Frequent Urin... Health Article

Diana Post, M.D., is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Question:

Is frequent urination a sign of kidney dysfunction?

Answer:

There are many different reasons why people develop frequent urination. However, most of the time frequent urination is NOT related to a kidney problem.

Sometimes your body produces an increased amount of urine and then you have to urinate more frequently or in larger volumes to get rid of the excess. Drinking more fluids on a hot summer day, for example, can lead to urinary frequency. Drinks with caffeine or alcohol in them act as a diuretic and are particularly likely to cause this problem.

Poorly controlled diabetes is often accompanied by frequent urination. Another metabolic disorder called diabetes insipidus can also present with frequent urination. The disorder is caused by lack of a hormone called antidiuretic hormone, which helps regulate urine volumes.

The same symptom can also be seen in conditions not associated with increased volume of urine. Infections of the bladder, prostate or other parts of the urinary system can present with frequent urination. With these conditions, people often note pain with urination and may have the urge to urinate frequently, even though they only urinate small amounts. Prostate inflammation, prostate infection or an enlarged prostate are common causes of urinary frequency in men, and cystitis (bladder infection) is similarly a common cause in women. Medications can be at fault, including diuretic pills (commonly called "water pills") and some chemotherapy drugs.

Occasionally, there is partial obstruction to the free flow of urine, and urine then builds up behind the obstruction and "overflows," leading to the passage of small, frequent volumes of urine.

Only rarely is urinary frequency caused by kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease can sometime affect the ability of the kidneys to concentrate urine, and therefore leads to higher volumes of urine and the symptom of urinary frequency. More commonly, kidney disease decreases the volume and frequency of urination.

So if you think you are urinating more frequently and don't know why, you should see your doctor. Usually, after a history and physical exam, a simple urine test and blood test will be ordered to try and find out exactly what is causing the problem. Other tests may also be needed. Very often, once the cause is found, it can be successfully treated.