The impact of probiotic yogurt consumption on lipid profiles in subjects with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background and aims: Potential beneficial effect of probiotic yogurt on the lipid profile has raised much interest. However, the results are inconsistent in this regard. The aim of the study is to determine the effects of probiotic yogurt on serum lipid profile in individuals with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia. Methods and results: Online databases including PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Igaku Chuo Zasshi were searched until March 19th 2019. The effect sizes were expressed as the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Seven eligible trials with 274 participants were included in this systematic review. Pooling of 9 effect sizes from these seven articles revealed a significant reduction in total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels following probiotic yogurt consumption (mean difference: -8.73 mg/dl, 95% CI: -15.98, -1.48, p-value = 0.018 and mean difference: -10.611 mg/dl, 95% CI: -16.529, -4.693, p-value = 0.000, respectively) without significant heterogeneity among the studies (I-2 = 40.6%, p-value = 0.1 and I-2 = 24.2%, p-value = 0.229, respectively). The results showed no significant changes in high density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Also, none of the variables showed a significant change for sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that probiotic yogurt can significantly reduce total cholesterol and LDL-c in subjects with mild to moderate hypercholesterolemia without a significant effect on HDL-c and triglyceride levels. (C) 2019 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.