Editing Pediatrics: Vesicoureteral Reflux (section)

== Epidemiology of Vesicoureteral Reflux ==
* '''Age'''
** '''The younger the child with UTI, the greater is the likelihood of discovering VUR'''
*** '''In children undergoing cystography for various indications, ≈30% for children with UTI and 17% without infection were found to have VUR'''
*** In contrast, VUR may be present in up to 70% of infants who present clinically with UTI
*** '''The majority of reflux detected later in life occurs in females; relatively uncommon in adult males'''
** In asymptomatic infants followed for antenatal hydronephrosis, '''the prevalence of VUR ranges from 15% in infants with absent or mild hydronephrosis on postnatal''' '''US''' '''to 38% in''' '''neonates with various postnatal upper tract''' '''US anomalies, including hydronephrosis''', renal cysts, or renal agenesis
* '''Gender'''
** '''76% of VUR infants are male'''
** '''Antenatally detected reflux is usually high grade and bilateral in boys when compared with reflux in girls.'''
** In later life, the likelihood of having VUR if presenting with a UTI is higher if patient is male than female
*** Uncircumcised male infants show a 12x greater risk for UTI than circumcised males, as well as a greater propensity for harboring periurethral uropathogenic flora
*** It is not known whether the incidence of VUR detection would rise in females if they were to be incidentally evaluated for reflux as often as infant males
* '''Race'''
** '''The frequency of detected vesicoureteral reflux is lower in female children of African descent.'''