Table 1. General characteristics of participants at baseline by sex.
| Variables | Men | Women | P-value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placebo | Probiotics | P-value | Placebo | Probiotics | P-value | |||
| Participants | 16 (61.54) | 10 (38.46) | 10 (37.04) | 17 (67.96) | 0.07 | |||
| Age (yrs) | 72.63 ± 0.96 | 72.70 ± 1.58 | 0.97 | 71.00 ± 0.70 | 70.18 ± 1.20 | 0.62 | ||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.12 ± 0.58 | 23.88 ± 0.63 | 0.18 | 24.08 ± 1.18 | 22.79 ± 0.71 | 0.33 | ||
| Education | 0.49 | 0.33 | ||||||
| Elementary or less | 2 (12.50) | 0 (0) | 1 (10.00) | 6 (35.29) | ||||
| Junior-high school | 2 (12.50) | 3 (30.00) | 4 (40.00) | 3 (17.65) | ||||
| High school | 4 (25.00) | 3 (30.00) | 2 (20.00) | 5 (29.41) | ||||
| College or more | 8 (50.00) | 4 (40.00) | 4 (40.00) | 3 (17.65) | ||||
| Marital status | 0.99 | 0.21 | ||||||
| Divorced/separated | 1 (6.25) | 1 (10.00) | 0 (0) | 2 (11.77) | ||||
| Widowed | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (10.00) | 5 (29.41) | ||||
| Married | 15 (93.75) | 9 (90.00) | 9 (90.00) | 10 (58.82) | ||||
| Lives | 0.99 | 0.36 | ||||||
| Alone | 1 (6.25) | 5 (50.00) | 1 (10.00) | 8 (47.06) | ||||
| With others | 15 (93.75) | 5 (50.00) | 9 (90.00) | 9 (52.94) | ||||
| Smoking status | 0.22 | 0.37 | ||||||
| Never | 9 (56.25) | 7 (70.00) | 9 (90.00) | 17 (100.00) | ||||
| Ever | 3 (18.75) | 3 (30.00) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||||
| Current | 4 (25.00) | 0 (0) | 1 (10.00) | 0 (0) | ||||
| Drinking status | 0.23 | 0.52 | ||||||
| Never | 6 (37.50) | 1 (10.00) | 7 (70.00) | 10 (58.82) | ||||
| Ever | 1 (6.25) | 2 (20.00) | 0 (0) | 2 (11.77) | ||||
| Current | 9 (56.25) | 7 (70.00) | 3 (30.00) | 5 (29.41) | ||||
| Physical activity | 0.99 | 0.52 | ||||||
| No | 1 (6.25) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (11.77) | ||||
| Yes | 15 (93.75) | 10 (100.00) | 10 (100.00) | 15 (88.23) | ||||
| Health status | 0.22 | 0.20 | ||||||
| Excellent | 2 (12.50) | 4 (40.00) | 1 (10.00) | 6 (35.30) | ||||
| Good | 13 (81.25) | 5 (50.00) | 6 (60.00) | 9 (52.94) | ||||
| Fair | 1 (6.25) | 1 (10.00) | 3 (30.00) | 1 (5.88) | ||||
| Poor | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | ||||
| Very poor | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (5.88) | ||||
| Energy intake (kcal/d) | 1,681.69 ± 93.34 | 1,673.84 ± 185.54 | 0.97 | 1,447.36 ± 122.96 | 1,425.08 ± 65.34 | 0.86 | ||
Data are presented as the mean ± SEM or number (%).
P-value was based on the t-test, χ2 test, or Fisher’s exact test.
BMI, body mass index.