Cranberry products may prevent UTI

CHICAGO – Cranberry-containing products appear to be associated with prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in certain individuals, according to a study published by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. According to the study background, cranberry products have long been used as a “folk remedy” to prevent UTI.

Chih-Hung Wang, M.D., of National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and colleagues reviewed available medical literature to re-evaluate cranberry-containing products for the prevention of UTI.

Cranberry-containing products were found to be more effective in women with recurrent UTIs, female populations, children, cranberry juice drinkers, and people who consumed cranberry-containing products more than twice daily. Urinary tract infections are common bacterial infections, with adult women being particularly susceptible.

The authors identified 13 trials including 1,616 individuals for qualitative analysis and 10 of these trials, with 1,494 individuals, were included in quantitative analysis. The study results showed that the random-effects pooled risk ratio for cranberry users vs. nonusers was 0.62.

“In conclusion, the results of the present meta-analysis support that consumption of cranberry-containing products may protect against UTIs in certain populations,” the authors state.

They cautioned, however, that this conclusion should be interpreted with great caution owing to the “substantial heterogeneity across trials.”