Monday, September 19, 2011
Probiotics Have Slight Preventive Effect on Colds
Taking probiotics seems to provide both children and adults with a mild degree of protection against many upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) including the common cold, according to a new systematic review. People who consume probiotics are also less likely to end up taking antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection, the review found.
Probiotics are in fermented foods like yogurt, soy yogurt and kefir. People also often take probiotics as supplements. The reviewers compared how often colds and other respiratory infections occurred in people who consumed probiotics to people who took placebos and found a statistically significant difference.
“Probiotics intervention was better than placebo in reducing the number of participants experiencing episodes of acute upper respiratory tract infections,” said review co-author Qiukui Hao in an email “Limited information from three of the 14 studies we included in our analysis also showed that probiotics can reduce the prescription of antibiotics.”
Hao is a medical student at Sichuan University in China, where he works with lead review author Bi Rong Dong, M.D.
Colds and other upper respiratory infections are the most common reason that people in the United States seek medical care, the reviewers say. The average American has two to six colds each year, which usually are mild viral infections that resolve themselves after a few days.
Upper respiratory infections also include tonsillitis, laryngitis and pharyngitis, an inflammation of the pharynx and the most common cause of a sore throat. Other frequently occurring upper respiratory infections are acute sinusitis, acute middle ear infection and croup. Symptoms including nasal congestion, sore throats, hoarseness and coughing.
The researchers based their conclusions on 14 randomized controlled trials that included 3,451 participants. More than two-thirds of participants were children. The average age of adult participants was 40. Studies took place in Australia, Chile, Croatia, Finland, Japan, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
Probiotics include a wide variety of live active microorganisms such as lactic acid bacteria, also called lactobacillus, and bifidobacteria. The review considered any probiotic, whether it was a single strain or multiple strains, at any dosage level for more than seven days.
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