Can Cranberries Contribute to Reduce the Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of Clinical Trials

Abstract

Purpose: We sought to clarify the association between cranberry intake and the prevention of urinary tract infections.

Materials and methods: This systematic review, which complies with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) statement, was done as a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of clinical trials.

Results: The findings clearly showed the potential use of cranberries for the clinical condition of urinary tract infection. Cranberry products significantly reduced the incidence of urinary tract infections as indicated by the weighted risk ratio (0.6750, 95% CI 0.5516-0.7965, p <0.0001). The results of subgroup analysis demonstrated that patients at some risk for urinary tract infections were more susceptible to the effects of cranberry ingestion.

Conclusions: The results of the current study could be used by physicians to recommend cranberry ingestion to decrease the incidence of urinary tract infections, particularly in individuals with recurrent urinary tract infections. This would also reduce the administration of antibiotics, which could be beneficial since antibiotics can lead to the worldwide emergence of antibiotic resistant microorganisms.

Keywords: disease susceptibility; fruit and vegetable juices; proanthocyanidins; study publication bias; urinary tract infections.