Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are more common among women who have 50 to 60% of all women who receive these infections at least once in their life. About half of the women will experience at least one IVU at some point, the researchers note in JAMA Internal Medicine. Once women have the first UTI, 27% will have another one within six months, and 44% to 70% will have another IVUI within a year. Women have long been advised that staying hydrated can help minimize the risk of these infections. But until now, researchers had no conclusive evidence that drinking more water could prevent IVUs, the study authors note. Sexual intercourse can not transmit these infections but may increase the risk of these bladder infections or uncomplicated acute cystitis. The dott. Thomas Hooton, one of the study’s principal authors, explains that it was thought that water could “find” bacteria, reducing the risk of repeated urinary tract infections. However, prior to this research, there were no studies to show that drinking water had any effect, he said. The study also showed that one in five women is at risk of developing recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections.
The team of researchers examined 140 premenopausal women across Europe who suffered from recurrent UTIs. These women were all in the habit of drinking much less than the recommended amount of water every day. For the study, researchers focused on 140 women with recurrent UTIs who typically drank less than 1.5 liters of fluids (about six 8-ounce glasses) per day. For 12 months, researchers asked half of these women to continue their normal fluid intake and asked the other half to drink an additional 1.5 liters of water a day. During the year, women who drank more water had an average of 1.7 UTI, compared to 3.2 on average for women who did not add extra water to their diet. Over the next year, researchers ensured that these women drank at least six glasses of 250ml water a day. The results were conclusive. They have shown that women who drink more water are 50% less likely to develop an UTI. Women who were inadequately hydrated suffered double the bladder infections in the study period, with almost twice the risk of infections per year compared to those who drank enough water.
While the study was sponsored by 11 bottled water companies, in a follow-up editorial article, Dr. Deborah Grady of the University of California, San Francisco, who is also deputy editor for JAMA Internal Medicine, stated that any safe drinking water can be effective in this case. Dr Hooton explains: “Drinking more fluids is designed to reduce the risk of UTI because it increases the rate at which bacteria are washed by the bladder, and probably also reduces the concentration of bacteria entering the bladder from the vagina. fewer opportunities for bacteria to attach to the cells that line the urinary tract.The only recommendation is not to make an excessive water load in the evening, but to distribute fluids throughout the day until mid-afternoon. repeatedly at night, when you should rest, to go to urinate, which can have a negative impact on the quality of sleep, beyond that, finding us in the age of antibiotic resistance (the drugs commonly used to treat UTIs) This is an important study. The increase in water intake is an effective antimicrobial strategy to prevent recurrent cystitis in women premenopause, at high risk of recurrence and who drink low volumes of fluids a day”.
- Edited by Dr. Gianfrancesco Cormaci, PhD, specialist in Clinical Biochemistry.
Scientific references
Al Demour S, Ababneh MA. Urol Int. 2018;100(1):31-36.
Bruyère F et al. Prog Urol. 2015 Sep; 25(10):590-597.