SynthesisArchives of internal medicine2012
Cranberry-containing products for prevention of urinary tract infections in susceptible populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Archives of internal medicine, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 239 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cranberry-derived bioactives for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections: antimicrobial mechanisms and global research trends in nutraceutical applications.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Preventive effect of cranberries with high dose of proanthocyanidins on urinary tract infections: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Cranberry for Bacteriuria in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2020Pooled it
- Systematic Review of Interventions to Reduce Urinary Tract Infection in Nursing Home Residents.Journal of hospital medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Cranberries and Urinary Tract Infections: How Can the Same Evidence Lead to Conflicting Advice?Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2016Pooled it
- Chemical- and radiation-induced haemorrhagic cystitis: current treatments and challenges.BJU international · 2013Pooled it
- Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2012Pooled it
- Whole cranberry fruit powder supplement reduces the incidence of culture-confirmed urinary tract infections in females with a history of recurrent urinary tract infection: A 6-month multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Trial
- Chronic consumption of a low calorie, high polyphenol cranberry beverage attenuates inflammation and improves glucoregulation and HDL cholesterol in healthy overweight humans: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of nutrition · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Cranberry juice capsules and urinary tract infection after surgery: results of a randomized trial.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2015Trial
- 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 · 2014Trial
- Plant Extracts and Natural Compounds for the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections in Women: Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Therapeutic Potential.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- [Cranberry juice, cranberry tablets, or increased fluid intake for urinary tract infections: a systematic literature search and network meta-analysis].Urologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Review
- Cranberry/Chondroitin Sulfate Co-precipitate as a New Method for Controlling Urinary Tract Infections.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Phytochemical Composition of Cranberry (Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Emerging Non-Antibiotic Options Targeting Uropathogenic Mechanisms for Recurrent Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUrinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most commonly acquired bacterial infections. Cranberry-containing products have long been used as a folk remedy to prevent UTIs. The aims of this study were to evaluate cranberry-containing products for the prevention of UTI and to examine the factors influencing their effectiveness.
methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systemically searched from inception to November 2011 for randomized controlled trials that compared prevention of UTIs in users of cranberry-containing products vs placebo or nonplacebo controls. There were no restrictions for language, population, or publication year.
resultsThirteen trials, including 1616 subjects, were identified for qualitative synthesis from 414 potentially relevant references; 10 of these trials, including a total of 1494 subjects, were further analyzed in quantitative synthesis. The random-effects pooled risk ratio (RR) for cranberry users vs nonusers was 0.62 (95% CI, 0.49-0.80), with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I(2) = 43%) after the exclusion of 1 outlier study. On subgroup analysis, cranberry-containing products seemed to be more effective in several subgroups, including women with recurrent UTIs (RR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.33-0.83) (I(2) = 0%), female populations (RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34-0.73) (I(2) = 34%), children (RR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.69) (I(2) = 0%), cranberry juice drinkers (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.72) (I(2) = 2%), and subjects using cranberry-containing products more than twice daily (RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.84) (I(2) = 18%).
conclusionsOur findings indicate that cranberry-containing products are associated with protective effect against UTIs. However, this result should be interpreted in the context of substantial heterogeneity across trials.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.