Dietary factors protecting women from urinary tract infection
Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:600–4. Printed in USA. 2003 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
More than half of all women experience at least one urinary tract infection (UTI) during their lifetime. urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by bacteria in the stool, dietary factors may affect the risk of contracting a UTI by altering the properties of the fecal bacterial flora..
We studied dietary factors for UTI in fertile women in a case-control setting.
Design: One hundred thirty-nine women from a health center for university students or from the staff of a university hospital (mean age: 30.5 y) with a diagnosis of an acute UTI were compared with 185 age-matched women with no episodes of UTIs during the past 5 y. Data on the women’s dietary and other lifestyle habits were collected by questionnaire. A risk profile for UTI expressed in the form of adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs was modeled in logistic regression analysis for 107 case-control pairs with all relevant information.
Results: Frequent consumption of fresh juices, especially berry juices, and fermented milk products containing probiotic bacteria was associated with a decreased risk of recurrence of UTI: the OR for UTI was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.48, 0.92) per 2 dL juice. A preference for berry juice over other juices gave an OR of 0.28 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.56). Consumption of fermented milk products ≥3 times/wk gave an OR of 0.21 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.66) relative to consumption < 1 time/wk. Intercourse frequency was associated with an increased risk of UTI (OR for ≥3 times/wk compared with < 1 time/wk: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.16, 6.2).
Conclusion: Dietary habits seem to be an important risk factor for UTI recurrence in fertile women, and dietary guidance could be a first step toward prevention.
REFERENCES
Foxman B, Barlow R, D’Arcy H, Gillespie B, Sobel JD. Urinary tract infection: self-reported incidence and associated costs. Ann Epidemiol 2000;10:509–15.
2. Raz R, Gennesin Y, Wasser J, et al. Recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. Clin Infect Dis 2000;30:152–6.
3. Scholes D, Hooton TM, Roberts PL, Stapleton AE, Gupta K, Stamm WE. Risk factors for recurrent urinary tract infection in young women. J Infect Dis 2000;182:1177–82.
4. Pascual-Teresa S, Santos-Buelga C, Rivas-Gonzalo JC. Quantitative analysis of flavan-3-ols in Spanish foodstuffs and beverages. J Agric Food Chem 2000;48:5331–7.
5. Foxman B, Somsel P, Tallman P, et al. Urinary tract infection among. women aged 40 to 65: behavioural and sexual risk factors. J Clin Epidemiol 2001;54:710–8.
Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:600–4. Printed in USA. 2003 American Society for Clinical Nutrition
More than half of all women experience at least one urinary tract infection (UTI) during their lifetime. urinary tract infections (UTIs) are caused by bacteria in the stool, dietary factors may affect the risk of contracting a UTI by altering the properties of the fecal bacterial flora..
We studied dietary factors for UTI in fertile women in a case-control setting.
Design: One hundred thirty-nine women from a health center for university students or from the staff of a university hospital (mean age: 30.5 y) with a diagnosis of an acute UTI were compared with 185 age-matched women with no episodes of UTIs during the past 5 y. Data on the women’s dietary and other lifestyle habits were collected by questionnaire. A risk profile for UTI expressed in the form of adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs was modeled in logistic regression analysis for 107 case-control pairs with all relevant information.
Results: Frequent consumption of fresh juices, especially berry juices, and fermented milk products containing probiotic bacteria was associated with a decreased risk of recurrence of UTI: the OR for UTI was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.48, 0.92) per 2 dL juice. A preference for berry juice over other juices gave an OR of 0.28 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.56). Consumption of fermented milk products ≥3 times/wk gave an OR of 0.21 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.66) relative to consumption < 1 time/wk. Intercourse frequency was associated with an increased risk of UTI (OR for ≥3 times/wk compared with < 1 time/wk: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.16, 6.2).
Conclusion: Dietary habits seem to be an important risk factor for UTI recurrence in fertile women, and dietary guidance could be a first step toward prevention.
REFERENCES
Foxman B, Barlow R, D’Arcy H, Gillespie B, Sobel JD. Urinary tract infection: self-reported incidence and associated costs. Ann Epidemiol 2000;10:509–15.
2. Raz R, Gennesin Y, Wasser J, et al. Recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women. Clin Infect Dis 2000;30:152–6.
3. Scholes D, Hooton TM, Roberts PL, Stapleton AE, Gupta K, Stamm WE. Risk factors for recurrent urinary tract infection in young women. J Infect Dis 2000;182:1177–82.
4. Pascual-Teresa S, Santos-Buelga C, Rivas-Gonzalo JC. Quantitative analysis of flavan-3-ols in Spanish foodstuffs and beverages. J Agric Food Chem 2000;48:5331–7.
5. Foxman B, Somsel P, Tallman P, et al. Urinary tract infection among. women aged 40 to 65: behavioural and sexual risk factors. J Clin Epidemiol 2001;54:710–8.