From fiction to fact

New medical evidence shows consuming cranberry products is an effective way to prevent a urinary tract infection (UTI) before it starts, confirming folklore.

A global study looking at the benefits of cranberry products published in Cochrane Reviews, has determined cranberry juice, and its supplements, reduce the risk of repeat symptomatic UTIs in women by more than a quarter, in children by more than half, and in people susceptible to UTI following medical interventions by about 53%.

Medical scientists from Flinders University and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead looked at 50 recent trials that included almost 9,000 participants.

The studies included a range of methods to determine the benefits of cranberry products. The vast majority compared cranberry products with a placebo or no treatment for UTI.

They determined drinking cranberries as a juice or taking capsules reduced the number of UTIs in women with recurrent cases, in children, and in people susceptible to UTIs following medical interventions such as bladder radiotherapy.

Senior author Professor Jonathan Craig, Vice President and Executive Dean of the College of Medicine & Public Health at Flinders University, says the real benefits of cranberry products became clear when the researchers expanded the scope of the review to include the most recently available clinical data.

‘This is a review of the totality of the evidence – and as new evidence emerges, new findings might occur. In this case, the new evidence shows a very positive finding that cranberry juice can prevent UTI in susceptible people,’ Professor Craig says.

‘We have shown the efficacy of cranberry products for the treatment of UTIs using all the evidence published on this topic since the mid-1990s.

‘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.’

The authors say while most UTIs are usually effectively treated with antibiotics, they can be recurring in some people. Cranberry products provide a harmless form of prevention.

They conclude that while cranberry products do help prevent UTIs in women with frequent recurrence, more studies are needed to further clarify which people with UTI would benefit most from cranberry products.

This new evidence might be particularly useful given recent concerns raised by the medical profession about the potential overuse of antibiotics in treating UTIs following trials to allow pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics for ‘uncomplicated UTIs’.

New guidelines call for the monitoring of pregnant women’s omega-3 fatty acid status.

Pregnant women with low levels of omega-3 should have their omega-3 fatty acid status monitored and provided with supplements to prevent premature births, according to new pregnancy care guidelines.

The latest National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Department of Health National Pregnancy Care Guidelines say there is evidence that women with a singleton pregnancy with low serum levels of omega-3 fatty acid are at higher risk of early preterm birth. Supplementing the levels of omega-3 among women with low levels of the fatty acid reduces their risk of early birth.

The advice is based on a Cochrane systematic review of more than 70 randomised controlled trials of almost 20,000 women with mainly singleton pregnancies. The review indicated that omega-3 supplementation from early to mid-pregnancy until birth resulted in a reduced risk of:

• early preterm birth by 42% (from 46 to 27 per 1,000 births)

• preterm birth by 11% (from 134 to 119 per 1000 births).

The guidelines recommend that GPs conduct screening and supplementation from early-mid pregnancy until birth.

SA Pathology and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) are evaluating the implementation of the omega-3 guidelines recommendation, with the aim of reducing the number of early preterm births.

The omega-3 status test can be performed on the same sample as the First

Trimester Screen, at no additional cost, through the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening (SAMSAS) Program.

The test can be ordered by ticking the box on the maternal serum screening test form.

This form is available online here or via the template available in medical software (latest version, accessible here).

Omega-3 status test results will be reported to the requesting provider as standalone report and will also be available on OACIS. Results of the omega-3 status will come with associated recommendations on whether to supplement or not.