Effect of probiotics on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the effects of probiotics on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. Materials and methods: Online databases Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed were searched until August 2014 to identify eligible articles. Finally, 7 trials were included. Results: Probiotic consumption significantly changed fasting plasma glucose (FPG) by -15.92 mg/dL (95% confidence interval [CI], -29.75 to -2.09) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) by -0.54% (95% CI, -0.82 to -0.25) compared with control groups. Subgroup analysis was conducted to trials with non-yogurts control. Meta-analysis of trials with multiple species of probiotics found a significant reduction in FPG (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -35.41 mg/dL, 95% CI: -51.98 to -18.89). The duration of intervention for >= 8 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in FPG (WMD: -20.34 mg/dL, 95% CI: -35.92 to -4.76). Subgroup analysis of trials with species of probiotics did not result in a significant meta-analysis effect. Furthermore, the duration of intervention <8 weeks did not result in a significant reduction in FPG. The results also showed that probiotic therapy significantly decreased homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and insulin concentration (WMD: -1.08, 95% CI: -1.88 to -0.28; and WMD: -1.35 mIU/L, 95% CI: -2.38 to -0.31, respectively). Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggests that consuming probiotics may improve glucose metabolism by a modest degree, with a potentially greater effect when the duration of intervention is weeks, or multiple species of probiotics are consumed. (C) 2016 The Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.