A global review by medical scientists from Flinders University in South Australia and The Children's Hospital at Westmead in New South Wales found cranberry juice or supplements can reduce the risk of repeat symptomatic UTIs in some women by more than a quarter, and in children by more than half. For people susceptible to UTIs following medical interventions, such as bladder radiotherapy, that risk drops by around 53 per cent. A UTI is a bacterial infection in the bladder, kidneys or urethra.
Alas, the review did not show any benefit for elderly people, pregnant people or in people with bladder-emptying problems. Senior author and executive dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, Jonathan Craig, said the benefits of cranberry products became clear when the scope of the review was expanded.
"The earlier versions of this review didn't have enough evidence to determine efficacy and subsequent clinical trials showed varied results, but in this updated review the volume of data has shown this new finding," he said.
Source: abc.net.au