Table 3. Baseline characteristics of the subjects.
| Items | LcS+LP0132 | LcS | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n=30 | n=29 | ||||
| At enrollment | |||||
| Sex, n | male:female | 13:17 | 12:17 | 0.879 | |
| Age, mean (SD) | year | 39.1 (9.2) | 40.6 (10.3) | 0.553 | |
| BMI, mean (SD) | kg/m2 | 21.3 (2.3) | 21.4 (2.7) | 0.800 | |
| Maximum TSS in the last pollen season, mean (SD) | 2.2 (0.5) | 2.2 (0.6) | 0.784 | ||
| At baseline | |||||
| Number of days with bowel movements, mean (SD) | days/week | 6.0 (1.4) | 5.9 (1.2) | 0.580 | |
| Frequency of abdominal pain per week, n | none | 26 | 25 | 1.000 | |
| a few times | 4 | 4 | |||
| Frequency of diarrhea per week, n | none | 29 | 25 | 0.195 | |
| a few times | 1 | 4 | |||
| Total IgE, mean (SD) | IU/mL | 359 (1,284) | 128 (118) | 0.333 | |
| Log-total IgE, mean (SD) | 4.1 (1.7) | 4.4 (1.0) | 0.376 | ||
| JCP-specific IgE, mean (SD) | UA/mL | 11.3 (13.9) | 12.8 (19.5) | 0.732 | |
| JCyP-specific IgE, mean (SD) | UA/mL | 1.5 (1.9) | 1.4 (1.8) | 0.788 | |
| House dust 1-specific IgE, mean (SD) | UA/mL | 8.6 (25.3) | 3.8 (9.9) | 0.341 | |
| Mite 1-specific IgE, mean (SD) | UA/mL | 9.1 (25.4) | 5.0 (13.6) | 0.451 | |
| Eosinophil count, mean (SD) | /μL | 201 (242) | 182 (121) | 0.704 | |
LcS+LP0132: Lactobacillus plantarum YIT 0132-fermented citrus juice and Lactobacillus casei Shirota-fermented milk consumption group; LcS: Lactobacillus casei Shirota-fermented milk consumption group; SD: standard deviation; BMI: body mass index; TSS: total symptom score; JCP: Japanese cedar pollen; JCyP: Japanese cypress pollen.
Number of subjects responding to each option on the questionnaire was analyzed by the χ2 test; all other data were analyzed by Student’s t-test.