Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Pancreatic β-cell Function and C-reactive Protein in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: ARandomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a polygenic endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age that lead to infertility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of probiotic on pancreatic beta-cell function and C-reactive protein (CRP) in PCOS patients. Methods: This randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 72 women aged 15-40 years old diagnosed with PCOS. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups receiving: (1) Probiotic supplements (n = 36), (2) placebo (n = 36) for 8-week. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and after 8-week of intervention. Results: Probiotic supplementation, compare with placebo, reduced fasting blood sugar (-4.15 +/- 2.87 vs. 2.57 +/- 5.66 mg/dL, respectively P = 0.7), serum insulin levels in crude model (-0.49 +/- 0.67 vs. 0.34 +/- 0.82 mu IU/mL, respectively, P = 0.09), homeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance score (-0.25 +/- 0.18 vs. -0.05 +/- 0.18, respectively, P = 0.14) nonsignificantly. Serum insulin levels after adjustment with covariates reduced significantly in probiotic group (P = 0.02). We did not found any significant differences in mean changes of CRP between groups (-0.25 +/- 0.18 vs. -0.05 +/- 0.18, respectively, P = 0.14). Conclusions: A 8-week multispecies probiotics supplementation had nonsignificantly beneficial effect on pancreatic beta-cell function and CRP in PCOS patients. After adjustment for some covariates, serum insulin changes were significantly different between groups.