Many people have an occasional urinary tract infection. If you have diabetes, you have at least twice the risk of having a urinary tract infection, when compared to people who do not have diabetes. Some people who have diabetes develop chronic recurrent urinary tract infections. 

There are several reasons that a person who has diabetes is at considerably greater risk of having a UTI than other people. The immune responses in your body normally work to fight off infections before the organisms can multiply. When you have diabetes, the impaired immune response has a role in the increased risk of developing a UTI, and in having repeated UTIs. 

Many people who have diabetes have nerve damage. If you have nerve damage, your bladder may not empty properly. Some urine can remain in your bladder, which leads to a greater risk of a urinary tract infection.  

Researchers determined that when you have diabetes, you are at increased risk of having more severe UTIs, more common urinary tract infections, and worse outcomes than those individuals who do not have diabetes.  

Treatment depends on several factors, such as the symptoms that you have, the severity of the symptoms and if there is kidney involvement.