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Review article2024Peer reviewedOpen access

Is There Evidence to Support Probiotic Use for Healthy People?

Merenstein, Daniel J.; Tancredi, Daniel J.; Karl, J. Philip; Krist, Alex H.; Lenoir-Wijnkoop, Irene; Reid, Gregor; Roos, Stefan; Szajewska, Hania; Sanders, Mary Ellen

Abstract

Probiotics are typically marketed as foods and dietary supplements, categories for products intended to maintain health in generally healthy populations and which, unlike drugs, cannot claim to treat or cure disease. This review addresses the existing evidence that probiotics are beneficial to healthy people. Our approach was to perform a descriptive review of efficacy evidence that probiotics can prevent urinary, vaginal, gastrointestinal, and respiratory infections, and improve risk factors associated with cardiovascular health or reduce antibiotic use. Other endpoints such as mental, dental, or immune health were not specifically addressed. We concluded that there is sufficient evidence of efficacy and safety for clinicians and consumers to consider using specific probiotics for some indications - such as the use of probiotics to support gut function during antibiotic use or to reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections - for certain people. However, we did not find a sufficiently high level of evidence to support unconditional, population-wide recommendations for other preventive endpoints we reviewed for healthy people. Although evidence for some indications is suggestive of the preventive benefits of probiotics, additional research is needed.

Keywords

probiotic; healthy human; USPSTF; vaginal infections; urinary tract infections; respiratory tract infections; gastrointestinal infections; cardiovascular health; International Scientific fi c Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics; ISAPP

Published in

Advances in Nutrition
2024, Volume: 15, number: 8, article number: 100265Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Gastroenterology and Hepatology
    Nutrition and Dietetics

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100265

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131942