Cranberry Juice & Bladder Infections

Kristen Siu & Divya UnniNST 192

OverviewI. Urinary tract infectionsII.Cranberry juice as a solutionIII.Supporting StudiesIV.Opposing StudiesV. ImprovementsVI.Conclusion

Urinary tract infections• Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

o E. Coli infect and colonize the urinary tract

• Symptomso burning pain when urinateo cloudy urineo fever and chills

• Women are more affectedo shorter urethra

Cranberry juice as a solution● Native Americans

first recognized benefits

● Contains fructose and A-type proanthocyanidins inhibit E.Coli adherence

Supporting Argument #1● Study of 28 women with recurrent

UTIs● Divided into 5 groups and given

different amounts● Compared to baseline before

intervention● 91 percent free of UTIs for three

months

Supporting Argument #2● 150 adult women divided into three

groups○ cranberry juice, lactobacillus, nothing

● After 6 months', 16% of the cranberry group, 39% of the lactobacillus group, and 36% of the control group experienced 1 recurrence of UTIs⩾

Opposing Argument #1• 176 premenopausal women (18-45 yo) with a

history of recent UTI randomized to 1 of 3 arms for a 6 month trial o 4 oz cranberry juice, 8 oz cranberry juice,

placebo juice

• Time to UTI (symptoms + pyuria) was main outcome

• Conclusion: no significant reduction in UTI risk compared to placebo group

Opposing Argument #2• 2012 Systematic review from Cochrane

Database looking at 24 RCT studies (4473 participants)

• Want to assess the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing UTIs in susceptible populations

• Conclusion: current review suggest cranberry juice is less effective than previously indicated

Improvements• Alternatives to cranberry juice

o Tablets, powders, capsules

• Aim for double-blinded, randomized control trial

• Choose a diverse range of participants or narrow to high risk population

• Choose a suitable length of study depending on cranberry product used in trial

Conclusions• Still a controversy

o In vitro lab studies have shown positive results for effects of cranberry juice on bacteria that cause UTIs

o Human studies do not have statistically significant data to back in vitro studies

• Future research still needed to determine the true efficacy of cranberry juice on UTIs

Sources1) Stapleton A.E., Dziura J, Hooton T.M., Cox M.E., Yarova-Yarovaya Y, Chen S, Gupta K. Recurrent urinary tract

infection and urinary Escherichia coli in women ingesting cranberry juice daily: a randomized controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012; 87 (2): 143-150. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3497550/pdf/main.pdf . Accessed October 13, 2013

2) Jepson RG, Williams G, Craig JC. Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections. Cochrane Database of Systematic

Reviews 2012, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD001321. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub5.

3) Kontiokari T. Randomised trial of cranberry-lingonberry juice and Lactobacillus GG drink for the prevention of urinary

tract infections in. BMJ. 2001;322(7302):1571-1571.

4)Wang, P.The Effectiveness of Cranberry Products to Reduce Urinary Tract Infections in Females. Urol Nurs.

2013;33(1):38-45.