About the speaker

Mariacristina Vecchio earned her Doctorate Degree in Pharmacy with a specialization in clinical pharmacology at the University of Calabria, Italy. She worked at the Mario Negri Institute as a renal epidemiology research officer where she focused her research on pharmacological treatment for patients undergoing dialysis. She conducted several clinical studies on the comorbidities associated to dialysis treatment such as depression and sexual dysfunction. Currently at Danone Nutricia Research, Mariacristina is working as Hydration and Kidney Health Manager, focusing her research on the relationships between water intake and renal diseases.

About the talk

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infectious diseases in women. The lifetime risk of developing UTI has been estimated to be over 60% in women, with 25% developing a recurrence within 6 months. UTIs are a key issue: although temporary, they can be associated with significant morbidities such as pain, general discomfort and decreased quality of life. Abundant fluid intake seems to be a possible option to prevent recurrent episodes of infection, promoting the flushing of the urethra by the passage of urine. Women suffering from recurrent UTIs are often recommended to drink more water as a preventive action; however, no official recommendations exist supporting the beneficial effects of increased water intake on recurrent UTIs. Despite many open questions, existing scientific evidence on this topic is sparse and high quality research is still lacking. Here, we present the results of the first randomized controlled trial assessing the effect of increased water intake on recurrent UTI in young healthy women.