Table 2.

Summary of studies

Area studied	Total no. of studies	Study types	No. of positive-quality studies	No. of neutral-quality studies	No. of negative-quality studies	Fermented products studied	Comparators	No. of studies with favorable outcome	No. of studies with no significant effect	No. of studies with unfavorable outcome
Gastrointestinal health and disease	26	RCT=16 RCOT=8 CS=1 NRCT=1	19	6	1	Yogurt, fermented milk, fermented milk drinks, pasteurized yogurt, probiotic yogurt, kefir	Dahi, ultra-heated yogurt, nonfermented dairy product, milk, pasteurized yogurt, acidified milk, yogurt, lactose water, ice cream, ice milk, frozen yogurt, hydrolyzed lactose milk, lactase tablet, fermented/cultured milk	20	6	0
Cardiovascular health and disease	28	RCT=7 RCOT=5 CC=1 CS=4 CH=11	8	19	1	Yogurt, probiotic yogurt, fermented milk, probiotic fermented milk with added biopeptides	Chemically fermented dairy, pasteurized yogurt, 2% butterfat milk, probiotic cheese, probiotic yogurt, nonfermented dairy product, 2% milk, nonfat milk, low-fat yogurt, no milk, no yogurt	16	11	1
Weight	22	RCT=5 CS=8 CH=9	7	15	0	Yogurt, kefir	Milk, chemically fermented milk, isoenergetic sucrose beverage, low-dairy calcium diet	19	3	0
Cancer	17	RCT=1 CC=5 CH=11	1	16	0	Yogurt, fermented milk	No yogurt	9	5	3
Diabetes	9	RCT=1 RCOT=2 CS=1 CH= 5	2	5	1	Yogurt, probiotic in fermented milk	Sweetened yogurt, skim milk, orange juice, no supplementation, nonfermented milk	7	1	0
Bone health	7	RCT=1 CS=3 CH=3	1	6	0	Yogurt, laban	No yogurt	5	2	0

Abbreviations: CC, case-control (study); CH, cohort (study); CS, cross-sectional (study); NRCT, nonrandomized controlled trial; RCOT, randomized crossover trial; RCT, randomized controlled trial.