Older women who take menopausal hormone therapy have a greater variety of beneficial bacteria in their urine that may help guard against recurrent urinary tract infections, according to research presented virtually at a US conference.

Recurrent UTIs have a “profound impact on the quality of life of postmenopausal women and current therapies, namely antibiotics, are failing,” said lead author Dr Nicole De Nisco, from the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas in Dallas.