While increased liquids reduce the rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) compared with no treatment, cranberry in liquid form provides even better clinical outcomes in terms of reduction in UTIs and antibiotic use and should be considered for the management of UTIs, according to a new study by scientists from Bond University, the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital.
People who drink cranberry juice are 54% less likely to develop urinary tract infections. Image credit: The Loves of Eirlys.
“UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections,” said lead author Dr. Christian Moro and colleauges.
“Over 50% of females and 20% of males suffer from at least one episode throughout their lifetime, and in children this is the most common bacterial infection.”
“Although antimicrobials have traditionally obtained a high immediate cure rate, there is an increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the bacteria that cause UTIs.”
“Some assessments have reported that over 90% of UTIs exhibited bacteria that was drug resistant, with most resistant to two or more antibiotics.”
“With microbial resistance starting to inhibit the effectiveness of antibiotics in the treatment of UTIs, now is the time to act and identify evidence-based non-drug interventions for the prevention and treatment of UTIs.”
“The practice of reducing antibiotics also assists with the financial and clinical burden of their prescriptions, where UTIs are responsible for a significant percentage of clinical visits.”
“Increasing patient intake of liquids, or introducing cranberry juice or cranberry tablets, has been proposed as having potential benefits.”
“However, the literature supporting this has been varied, and studies demonstrating the beneficial effects of cranberry appear to arise as often as those that do not.”
The authors utilised the novel technique of a network meta-analysis, which enables a comparison between three or more interventions simultaneously across a network of studies.
They included a total of 20 trials (3,091 participants), with 18 studies highlighting a 54% lower rate of UTIs with cranberry juice consumption than no treatment and a 27% lower rate than placebo liquid.
“The findings could help reduce the use of antibiotics to treat UTIs,” Dr. Moro said.
“More than half of women experience UTIs and antibiotics are a go-to treatment prescribed by doctors.”
“With antibiotic resistance increasing, it is vital to identify effective non-drug interventions.”
“Cranberry juice is an effective and easy intervention that should be considered for the management of UTIs.”
The authors also found cranberry juice reduced the need for antibiotics by 59%, and significantly reduced the symptoms of those with a current UTI.
“Just drinking more water or taking cranberry tablets was also beneficial, although not to the extent of combining cranberry with fluid, such as in juice,” they said.
Their paper was published in the journal European Urology Focus.
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Christian Moro et al. Cranberry Juice, Cranberry Tablets, or Liquid Therapies for Urinary Tract Infection: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis. Eur Urol Focus, published online July 18, 2024; doi: 10.1016/j.euf.2024.07.002
This article is based on a press-release provided by Bond University.