Cranberry may Prove Useful for Elderly at High Risk for Urinary Tract Infections

by | Jan 22, 2016 | 2014, Aging, Antioxidants, Bladder Health, Kidney Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Those taking 500 mg/day of a cranberry concentrate had a 27% risk of urinary tract infections.

Urinary tract infection is a common bacterial infection in residents of long-term care facilities (1), accounting for nearly 1 in 4 infections (2, 3). The seriousness of urinary tract infections among the elderly goes beyond just the days of having the illness but may also cause delirium, dehydration, hospitalization, or even death (4, 5). As a result, affordable and safe ways to prevent urinary tract infections for those in long-term care facilities (no evidence currently exists of such ways) (6) could have a significant impact on both the quality of life and also be a cost-saving measure.

Now a new study (7) suggests that cranberry supplementation may be that affordable approach. Previous research provides evidence that the antioxidants in cranberries called proanthocyanidins are effective against infectious bacteria like E. coli (8, 9, 10), staph aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia (11, 12). Building on these findings, 928 patients with an average age of 84 and residing in long-term care facilities (703 women, 225 men) were given either cranberry (500 mg cranberry containing 9 mg proanthocyanidins = 458 patients) or placebo (470 patients) twice daily for 12 months. Based on risk factors that included long-term catheterization, diabetes mellitus, add at least 1 UTI in the previous year, 516 of these patients were classified as “high risk” for urinary traction infection (253 given cranberry, 263 given placebo). For the 412 at low-risk, 205 were given cranberry and 207 were given placebo.

As there is currently no standard definition for diagnosing urinary tract infection in the elderly, the researchers used a clinical definition that included the presence of at least one of the following: pain during urination, abdominal pain, fever, signs of delirium, nausea, vomiting, chills (13, 14). They also used a “strict” definition of urinary traction infection that is based on a urine test that identifies at least 1 x 105 colony-forming units of bacteria present.

After one year among the high-risk patients, those in the cranberry group saw a 27% lower incidence of urinary tract infection (62.8 vs. 84.8 per 100 person-years at risk, p = .04). The beneficial effects of cranberry on incidence was especially prevalent starting in the third month of supplementation, indicating at least 2 months of supplementation with cranberry may be needed before a protective effect will be established. No difference in urinary traction infection rates was seen in those with low urinary tract infection (412 patients) and no difference between groups was noted using the “strict” definition of urinary tract infection.

For the researchers, “Cranberry capsules may offer an opportunity to decrease the incidence of [urinary tract] infection in high-risk long-term care facility residents by using a well-tolerated treatment.”

Source: Caljouw, Monique AA, et al. “Effectiveness of Cranberry Capsules to Prevent Urinary Tract Infections in Vulnerable Older Persons: A Double‐Blind Randomized Placebo‐Controlled Trial in Long‐Term Care Facilities.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 62.1 (2014): 103-110.

© 2014, Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society. 0002-8614/14/$15.00 Creative Commons Attribution License

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted March 4, 2014.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

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