Premium
Cranberry and Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Generally Healthy Women: A Systematic Review and Meta‐analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs)
Author(s) -
Kern Hua,
Liska DeAnn,
Chung Mei
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.916.8
Subject(s) - medicine , relative risk , meta analysis , randomized controlled trial , confidence interval , subgroup analysis , placebo , randomization , urinary system , bacteriuria , lower risk , alternative medicine , pathology
The aim of the present meta‐analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of cranberry on the recurrence of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) among otherwise healthy women. [Registered on International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews: PROSPERO 2015:CRD42015024439 ] Two scientists independently conducted the literature search and extracted data, with discrepancies resolved via discussion with a third scientist. Meta‐analysis was performed using RevMan (version 5.3, Cochrane). Six studies (1320 subjects) were included in qualitative and quantitative synthesis. Cranberry reduced the risk of uncomplicated UTI recurrence among healthy women by 18% [Risk Ratio (RR) =0.82; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.68–0.99; p=0.04] (I 2 =38%). When an outlier study was excluded from the analysis, cranberry further reduced the risk of UTI recurrence by 27%, compared to placebo/control (RR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.60–0.90; p=0.003) (I 2 =0%). Subgroup analysis indicated cranberry seemed to be more effective in women who were free of UTI at the start of the trial (RR=0.72; 95% CI: 0.55–0.94; p=0.02; n=3 studies) (I 2 =0%), or over a longer (12 months) follow‐up period (RR=0.61; 95% CI: 0.40–0.91; p=0.02; n=2 studies) (I 2 =0%), than those who had UTI at the study entry or were followed up for 6 months (p>0.10), respectively. Risk of bias assessment indicated half of the included trials did not provide the randomization information, two had high rates of loss to follow‐up, and two thirds were subject to other biases. Results of this meta‐analysis suggest cranberry can be a potential nutritive option for generally healthy women to prevent the recurrence of uncomplicated recurrent UTIs. Support or Funding Information Supported by Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.