Table 1.

Demographic characteristics of subjects at the beginning of the study. Results of age and BMI (body mass index) are reported as mean value ± standard deviation.

	Placebo			Probiotics
	Total	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male
No. of subjects	25	19	6	25	17	8
Age (years)	64.92 ± 6.04	63.47 ± 5.10	69.50 ± 6.98	62.56 ± 4.93	63.71 ± 5.28	60.00 ± 3.32
BMI (kg/m2)	23.59 ± 1.52	23.55 ± 1.58	23.72 ± 1.40	23.25 ± 1.89	23.15 ± 1.78	24.20 ± 0.87