Table 2.
Mental and physical wellbeing according to Short-Form 12-item (SF-12) questionnaire in middle-aged adults receiving placebo or synbiotic for 30 days.
| Placebo | Synbiotic | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Day 30 | Baseline | Day 30 | |
| Mental Component Score (MCS) | 45 ± 10.8 | 46.8 ± 11.3 | 50 ± 7.2 | 48.4 ± 5.8 |
| Physical Component Score (PCS) | 51.5 ± 7.9 | 50.6 ± 6.1 | 52.9 ± 5 | 54.1 ± 4.2 |
| Physical function | 87.5 ± 23.5 | 89.3 ± 18.9 | 94.2 ± 15 | 94.2 ± 11 |
| Role physical | 85.7 ± 18.9 | 84.8 ± 18.5 | 92.3 ± 10.9 | 95.2 ± 9.6 |
| Bodily pain | 78.6 ± 23.7 | 83.9 ± 23.2 | 90.4 ± 12.7 | 94.2 ± 11 |
| General health | 65.4 ± 10.6 | 62.9 ± 15.2 | 66.9 ± 13.6 | 68.1 ± 15.8 |
| Vitality | 33.9 ± 21 | 28.6 ± 25.7 | 46.2 ± 13.9 | 38.5 ± 21.9 |
| Social function | 89.3 ± 16.2 | 83.9 ± 23.2 | 90.4 ± 12.7 | 90.4 ± 12.7 |
| Role emotional | 75.9 ± 19.3 | 84.8 ± 18.5 | 92.3 ± 10.9 | 90.4 ± 11.6 |
| Mental health | 66.1 ± 23.2 | 66.1 ± 23.2 | 74 ± 15.7 | 73.1 ± 13.4 |
Values are means ± SD (placebo: n = 14, synbiotic: n = 13). Matched-pairs Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to compare changes from baseline (within-group variations; p > 0.05). Between-groups variations were analyzed by Mann–Whitney U-tests (p > 0.05).