Table 2.
Dietary intake, anthropometrical measurements, biochemical parameters, and blood pressure in kefir and unfermented milk groups.
| Characteristics | Kefir Group | Unfermented Milk Group | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Week 12 | p1 | Baseline | Week 12 | p2 | p3 | |
| Dietary intake | |||||||
| Energy (kcal/day) | 1694.16 (1590.92–1936.72) | 1995.73 (1567.23–2351.80) | 0.347 | 1655.35 (1423.52–2026.12) | 1979.09 (1606.15–2123.62) | 0.575 | 0.821 |
| Carbohydrate (%) | 44.00 (38.00–45.75) | 42.50 (37.75–48.75) | 0.964 | 41.00 (32.00–45.25) | 46.00 (38.50–52.50) | 0.214 | 0.283 |
| Protein (%) | 16.50 (15.25–19.00) | 13.50 (12.00–18.50) | 0.066 | 15.50 (12.75–17.25) | 15.00 (12.00–16.50) | 0.717 | 0.254 |
| Fat (%) | 39.50 (37.00–44.75) | 41.00 (38.00–46.00) | 0.666 | 43.50 (41.75–48.00) | 40.00 (32.75–44.25) | 0.167 | 0.228 |
| Fibre (g) | 26.11 (18.42–36.90) | 26.81 (21.58–32.65) | 0.814 | 23.28 (17.11–26.23) | 25.17 (16.67–33.61) | 0.646 | 0.722 |
| Anthropometrical measurements | |||||||
| Weight (kg) | 84.05 (69.23–88.78) | 83.50 (66.90–88.75) | 0.695 | 87.65 (75.60–100.60) | 88.55 (74.33–96.65) | 0.207 | 0.418 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 30.67 (26.94–34.66) | 30.58 (26.24–34.31) | 0.754 | 32.38 (29.18–34.59) | 31.90 (29.05–33.71) | 0.241 | 0.418 |
| Body fat mass (%) | 37.05 (31.33–44.05) | 35.85 (30.58–44.23) | 0.248 | 37.45 (27.05–41.45) | 38.30 (29.63–43.98) | 0.241 | 0.069 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 100.50 (90.75–110.00) | 102.25 (90.00–109.00) | 0.407 | 106.75 (102.25–119.00) | 106.75 (100.50–118.50) | 0.952 | 0.722 |
| Hip circumference (cm) | 111.50 (106.00–116.50) | 110.00 (106.25–118.63) | 0.813 | 112.00 (106.00–119.25) | 111.75 (105.13–116.25) | 0.483 | 0.228 |
| Waist–to–hip ratio | 0.92 (0.86–0.99) | 0.92 (0.86–0.95) | 0.929 | 0.97 (0.92–1.00) | 0.99 (0.92–1.03) | 0.386 | 0.497 |
| Lipid profile | |||||||
| Total cholesterol (mg/dL) | 243.50 (217.25–265.25) | 222.00 (201.25–275.00) | 0.209 | 220.00 (199.75–249.00) | 226.50 (198.75–240.25) | 0.953 | 0.539 |
| HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 45.00 (39.00–55.75) | 46.00 (41.00–63.00) | 0.271 | 42.50 (34.50–56.25) | 43.50 (36.00–58.00) | 0.412 | 0.346 |
| LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 154.50 (135.75–177.00) | 144.00 (116.50–188.75) | 0.170 | 141.00 (114.50–177.50) | 147.50 (115.75–167.50) | 0.959 | 0.314 |
| Triglycerides (mg/dL) | 185.00 (114.50–216.75) | 152.50 (116.50–191.25) | 0.530 | 164.50 (126.25–220.75) | 161.50 (117.00–236.75) | 0.878 | 1.000 |
| Homocysteine (µmol/L) | 10.01 (8.64–12.40) | 9.31 (7.45–12.70) | 0.182 | 13.10 (10.73–15.25) | 12.00 (11.05–14.35) | 0.213 | 0.710 |
| Glycaemic status | |||||||
| Glucose (mg/dL) | 105.00 (93.75–109.75) | 100.50 (96.50–103.00) | 0.157 | 101.50 (97.00–107.25) | 98.50 (97.50–116.25) | 0.918 | 0.159 |
| Insulin (mU/L) | 15.94 (11.75–17.64) | 13.64 (7.33–16.36) | 0.050 * | 19.04 (18.09–25.49) | 22.08 (15.05–28.54) | 0.386 | 0.123 |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.60 (5.25–5.88) | 5.65 (5.50–5.98) | 0.157 | 5.65 (5.20–6.03) | 5.70 (5.10–5.90) | 0.918 | 0.123 |
| HOMA–IR | 4.18 (2.86–4.59) | 3.42 (1.93–4.22) | 0.050 * | 4.52 (4.29–6.65) | 5.52 (3.38–8.49) | 0.445 | 0.159 |
| Inflammation–related indicators | |||||||
| hs–CRP (mg/dL) | 0.22 (0.69–0.80) | 0.16 (0.10–0.46) | 0.533 | 0.27 (0.21–0.41) | 0.24 (0.13–0.50) | 0.917 | 0.733 |
| TNF–α (pg/mL) | 12.01 (0.76–43.05) | 1.13 (0.49–8.33) | 0.015 * | 8.51 (0.49–25.85) | 4.12 (0.49–13.03) | 0.401 | 0.123 |
| IL–6 (pg/mL) | 15.82 (11.52–29.75) | 13.47 (5.65–21.39) | 0.099 | 19.73 (13.85–28.71) | 10.03 (6.16–16.45) | 0.047 * | 0.872 |
| IL–10 (pg/mL) | 4.38 (1.13–32.90) | 1.91 (1.13–14.77) | 0.386 | 1.45 (1.13–9.34) | 1.13 (1.13–15.95) | 0.735 | 0.539 |
| IFN–γ (IU/mL) | 1.23 (0.12–2.19) | 0.38 (0.04–0.85) | 0.013 * | 0.56 (0.02–3.04) | 0.49 (0.18–1.19) | 0.086 | 0.628 |
| ALT (U/L) | 18.50 (16.50–24.00) | 22.00 (19.50–24.00) | 0.288 | 25.00 (20.75–31.25) | 24.50 (18.75–29.00) | 0.215 | 0.180 |
| AST (U/L) | 19.00 (18.00–20.00) | 19.00 (17.00–22.50) | 0.887 | 19.00 (18.00–20.25) | 17.50 (17.00–19.50) | 0.136 | 0.203 |
| GGT (U/L) | 15.00 (10.75–23.00) | 14.50 (12.00–23.75) | 0.371 | 19.00 (16.00–40.50) | 19.00 (14.25–29.25) | 0.065 | 0.169 |
| Blood pressure | |||||||
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 134.50 (115.25–140.50) | 118.00 (103.25–137.75) | 0.041 * | 132.50 (123.75–144.00) | 118.00 (105.75–137.00) | 0.047 * | 0.974 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 85.00 (77.50–92.00) | 78.50 (69.00–80.00) | 0.019 * | 89.00 (81.00–92.00) | 78.50 (66.75–89.50) | 0.059 | 1.000 |
Data are given as median (25th percentile–75th percentile). HDL: High Density Lipoprotein, LDL: Low Density Lipoprotein, HbA1c: Glycosylated Hemoglobin, HOMA-IR: Homeostasis Model of Assessment Insulin Resistance, hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein, TNF: Tumor Necrosis Factor, IL: Interleukin, IFN-γ: Interferon-γ, ALT: Alanine Aminotransferase, AST: Aspartate Aminotransferase, GGT: Gamma-glutamyl Transferase. p1 gives the differences between baseline and after intervention in the kefir group. p2 gives the differences between baseline and after intervention in the unfermented group. p3 gives the comparison of the changes from baseline to week 12th between groups. p1 and p2 were analysed by the Wilcoxon test while p3 was analyzed by the Mann–Whitney U test. * p ≤ 0.05.