Table 1.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies in the review.
| Inclusion Criteria | Description |
|---|---|
| Study design | Randomized controlled trial or human clinical trial |
| Study population | Individuals in good health or patients admitted with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease |
| Intervention | Prebiotic, probiotic, and symbiotic interventions |
| Language of publication | No limitations on language |
| Published articles | In the PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases |
| Output concepts | Score representing cognitive performance and various assessments of cognitive functions: attention, calculation, memory, verbal fluency, psychomotor speed, visual-constructional ability, neuropsychological function, reaction time, and psychocognitive tests. Various cognitive functions and their assessment tools include validated questionnaires like the Mini-Mental State Examination, Verbal Fluency Test, Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Rapid Visual Information Processing, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Japanese version of Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, etc. |
| Exclusion Criteria | |
| In vitro studies | |
| Animal experiments | |
| Interventions targeting a range of health conditions, including but not limited to malignancies, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, stroke, multiple sclerosis, chronic cerebral ischemia, polycystic kidney disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes mellitus, fibromyalgia, hepatic encephalopathy, perioperative and postoperative conditions, Huntington’s disease, cirrhosis hepatis, allergic rhinitis, frailty syndrome, psychosis, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, portal hypertension, and a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive status | |
| Interventions tailored for various life stages and situations, including but not limited to premature, infancy, adolescence, pregnancy, and interventions designed for athletes | |
| Nutritional guidance, dietary recommendations, and food interventions | |
| Brief interventions lasting less than 4 weeks | |
| Weight loss support for overweight patients | |