WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Use of cranberry-containing products appears to be associated with prevention of urinary tract infections in some individuals, according to a study published Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common bacterial infections and adult women are particularly susceptible. Cranberry-containing products have long been used as a "folk remedy" to prevent the condition, according to the study background.
Researchers from the National Taiwan University reviewed the available medical literature to re-evaluate cranberry-containing products for the prevention of UTI.
The authors identified 13 trials, including 1,616 individuals, for qualitative analysis and 10 of these trials, including 1,494 individuals, were included in quantitative analysis. The random- effects pooled risk ratio for cranberry users versus nonusers was 0.62, according to the study results.
"Cranberry-containing products tend to be more effective in women with recurrent UTIs, female populations, children, cranberry juice drinkers, and people using cranberry-containing products more than twice daily," the authors note. However, they warned that because of the substantial heterogeneity across trials, this conclusion should be interpreted with great caution. Editor: Chen Zhi