TABLE 5.
Intervention | Comparison | Outcomes | Studies, n | Participants, n | MD | 95% CI | P value | In favor of | Tau-squared | I-squared |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Probiotics | Placebo/no intervention | Short term | ||||||||
Primary Outcomes | ||||||||||
Fasting blood glucose | 8 | 428 | –12.99 | (–23.55, –2.42) | 0.016 | Probiotics | 0.005 | 65.7 | ||
HbA1c | 4 | 231 | –0.17 | (–0.37, 0.02) | 0.084 | — | 0.194 | 36.3 | ||
Secondary Outcomes | ||||||||||
Serum insulin | 5 | 296 | –0.98 | (–2.38, 0.42) | 0.170 | — | 0.122 | 45.0 | ||
Triglyceride | 5 | 281 | –20.98 | (–63.96, 22.01) | 0.339 | — | 0.021 | 65.3 | ||
Cholesterol | 4 | 241 | –10.69 | (–19.53, –1.85) | 0.018 | Probiotics | 0.680 | 0 | ||
LDL-C | 5 | 281 | –9.55 | (–17.13, –1.98) | 0.013 | Probiotics | 0.942 | 0 | ||
HDL-C | 5 | 281 | 3.25 | (–0.05, 6.54) | 0.054 | — | 0.176 | 36.8 | ||
Long term | ||||||||||
Primary outcomes | ||||||||||
Fasting blood glucose | 12 | 805 | –2.99 | (–5.84, –0.13) | 0.040 | Probiotics | 0.774 | 0 | ||
HbA1c | 7 | 572 | –0.14 | (–0.34, 0.06) | 0.172 | — | 0.001 | 72.1 | ||
Secondary outcomes | ||||||||||
Serum insulin | 9 | 474 | –1.79 | (–3.33, –0.24) | 0.023 | Probiotics | 0.011 | 59.4 | ||
Triglyceride | 10 | 516 | –12.39 | (–23.78, –0.99) | 0.033 | Probiotics | 0.195 | 27.0 | ||
Cholesterol | 10 | 516 | –4.77 | (–9.20, 0.33) | 0.035 | Probiotics | 0.981 | 0 | ||
LDL-C | 8 | 420 | –2.67 | (–7.48, 2.14) | 0.277 | — | 0.886 | 0 | ||
HDL-C | 9 | 488 | 1.49 | (–0.47, 3.46) | 0.136 | — | 0.030 | 53.0 | ||
Synbiotics | Prebiotics | Short term | ||||||||
Primary outcomes | ||||||||||
Fasting blood glucose | 2 | 114 | –19.52 | (–32.42, –6.62) | 0.003 | Synbiotics | 0.341 | 0 | ||
HbA1c | 1 | 54 | –0.48 | (–1.43, 0.47) | 0.320 | — | . | . | ||
Secondary outcomes | ||||||||||
Serum insulin | 2 | 114 | –1.66 | (–3.72, 0.40) | 0.115 | — | 0.510 | 0 | ||
Triglyceride | 2 | 114 | –8.71 | (–28.79, 11.37) | 0.395 | — | 0.568 | 0 | ||
Cholesterol | 2 | 114 | –4.92 | (–19.17, 9.33) | 0.499 | — | 0.694 | 0 | ||
LDL-C | 2 | 114 | –3.59 | (–13.60, 6.43) | 0.483 | — | 0.870 | 0 | ||
HDL-C | 2 | 114 | 0.99 | (–2.70, 4.69) | 0.598 | — | 0.560 | 0 | ||
Probiotics | Control probiotics | Long term | ||||||||
Primary outcomes | ||||||||||
Fasting blood glucose | 3 | 165 | –8.56 | (–37.19, 20.08) | 0.558 | — | 0.017 | 75.5 | ||
HbA1c | 3 | 165 | –0.15 | (–0.55, 0.25) | 0.452 | — | 0.547 | 0 | ||
Secondary outcomes | ||||||||||
Serum insulin | 2 | 115 | 0.35 | (–1.28, 1.98) | 0.672 | — | 0.853 | 0 | ||
Triglyceride | 3 | 165 | –2.39 | (–29.69, 24.91) | 0.864 | — | 0.264 | 24.9 | ||
Cholesterol | 3 | 165 | –9.95 | (–31.42, 11.53) | 0.364 | — | 0.061 | 64.2 | ||
LDL-C | 3 | 165 | –2.08 | (–14.46, 10.31) | 0.742 | — | 0.208 | 36.3 | ||
HDL-C | 3 | 165 | 0.29 | (–3.30, 3.88) | 0.873 | — | 0.996 | 0 |
There are 20 trials in probiotics versus placebo or no intervention comparison, 2 trials in synbiotics versus prebiotics, and 4 trials in probiotics versus control probiotics (total 26 trials) that reported sufficient data to permit meta-analysis; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; MD, mean difference; short term is defined as <12 wk; long term is defined as ≥12 wk.