Table 1.
Characteristics of study participants at the beginning and end of the intervention clinical trial. BMI, Body Mass Index; WC, Waist Circumference; BMC, Bone Mineral Content; HbA1C, glycated hemoglobin. The duration of the trial was 3 months. The study enrollment period was 6 months, and subjects were assigned to the groups in a chronological order. n = 10 for the placebo group and n = 10 for the synbiotic group (7 subjects in the placebo group and 8 in the synbiotic group completed DXA scans). The results are expressed as mean ± SD. A one-way ANOVA with independent t-test was used for the group comparison (SPSS Statistics, v. 25). (*), p < 0.05, as compared between the beginning (baseline) and end of trial for the same group (placebo or synbiotic); p value, as compared between the placebo and synbiotic groups.
| Characteristics/Parameters | Placebo | Synbiotic | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex (%) | |||
| Male | 20.0 | 30.0 | |
| Female | 80.0 | 70.0 | |
| Age (years) | 47.0 ± 15.4 | 47.8 ± 8.99 | 0.88 |
| Height (cm) | 171.8 ± 12.9 | 163.4 ± 9.63 | 0.30 |
| Body mass (kg) | |||
| Baseline | 97.6 ± 23.1 | 90.6 ± 11.9 | 0.40 |
| End of trial | 90.0 ± 21.9 | 83.4 ± 11.4 | 0.41 |
| Body mass change (%) | 7.78 ± 5.30 * | 7.94 ± 3.88 * | 0.86 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | |||
| Baseline | 32.77 ± 4.51 | 34.20 ± 5.60 | 0.53 |
| End of trial | 30.14 ± 4.04 | 31.48 ± 5.23 | 0.53 |
| BMI change (%) | 8.02 ± 1.65 * | 7.95 ± 1.52 * | 0.82 |
| WC (cm) | |||
| Baseline | 106.9 ± 12.47 | 109.6 ± 8.07 | 0.57 |
| End of trial | 101.1 ± 12.89 | 102.6 ± 8.48 | 0.76 |
| WC change (%) | 5.42 ± 5.78 * | 6.38 ± 4.16 * | 0.29 |
| Body Fat Mass (kg) | |||
| Baseline | 40.66 ± 6.92 | 36.97 ± 11.35 | 0.47 |
| End of trial | 37.44 ± 6.99 | 34.06 ± 11.58 | 0.51 |
| Fat mass change (%) | 7.91 ± 2.73 * | 7.87 ± 3.94 * | 0.37 |
| Body Fat (%) | |||
| Baseline | 40.97 ± 5.02 | 40.51 ± 8.96 | 0.90 |
| End of trial | 39.51 ± 4.53 | 39.13 ± 9.47 | 0.92 |
| Body fat change (%) | 3.56 ± 1.49 * | 3.40 ± 2.97 | 0.20 |
| Body Lean Mass (kg) | |||
| Baseline | 57.39 ± 17.76 | 51.13 ± 8.87 | 0.39 |
| End of trial | 55.61 ± 16.15 | 49.47 ± 8.64 | 0.36 |
| Lean mass change (%) | 3.10 ± 2.10 * | 3.24 ± 1.14 * | 0.25 |
| BMC (kg) | |||
| Baseline | 2.66 ± 0.64 | 2.38 ± 0.48 | 0.34 |
| End of trial | 2.68 ± 0.67 | 2.38 ± 0.48 | 0.32 |
| BMC change (%) | 0.75 ± 0.05 | 0.16 ± 0.01 | 0.10 |
| Body Lean Mass + BMC (kg) | |||
| Baseline | 60.05 ± 18.38 | 53.52 ± 9.35 | 0.39 |
| End of trial | 58.30 ± 16.78 | 51.86 ± 9.11 | 0.36 |
| Lean mass + BMC change (%) | 2.91 ± 2.08 * | 3.10 ± 1.13 * | 0.26 |
| HbA1C (%) | |||
| Baseline | 5.36 ± 1.07 | 5.39 ± 0.28 | 0.93 |
| End of trial | 5.06 ± 0.37 | 5.06 ± 0.43 | 1.00 |
| HbA1c change (%) | 5.59 ± 0.89 | 6.12 ± 0.47 * | 0.24 |