Women are frequently prescribed antibiotics for urinary tract infections despite not actually having a UTI.

A recent study reported by NPR found that many women receiving treatment for recurrent presumed UTIs did not actually have a UTI. Their symptoms were instead linked to hormonally driven inflammation or pelvic-floor dysfunction. This supports the central point that antibiotics are sometimes prescribed when another condition is causing urinary symptoms.wbaa.orgwbaa.orgWhy too many women are prescribed antibiotics for UTIs they don't have The evidence does not establish that this occurs frequently among all women prescribed antibiotics for any suspected UTI. The reported finding concerns women with recurrent symptoms, and the search result does not provide the study’s sample size, diagnostic criteria, or rate of incorrect treatment. Mayo Clinic Health System also notes that bacteria can be present in the urinary tract without symptoms, a condition called asymptomatic bacteriuria, but that fact is distinct from proving that a symptomatic patient lacks a UTI.mayoclinichealthsystem.orgmayoclinichealthsystem.orgUrinary tract infection myths debunked

The most supportable conclusion is therefore limited: overtreatment occurs and appears common in at least some groups of women with recurrent UTI-like symptoms. The provided sources do not justify treating the statement as a precisely measured claim about women as a whole.