Association of Probiotic Consumption and Body Mass Index in the US Population: Insights from NHANES (P21-022-19)

Abstract

ObjectivesTo determine the association between probiotic consumption through food or supplements and Body Mass Index (BMI) in National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. MethodsThis large US population based cross-sectional study includes 2005–2014 NHANES data. We utilized 24-hour Dietary Recall (DR) interviews and Dietary Supplement Use 30-Day recall (DSQ) to extract the Probiotic Food (PF) and Probiotic Supplements (PS) consumption, respectively, using text search terms. Adults (≥18 years), who responded to DR interviews and DSQ, were included, while pregnant women were excluded from the study. Differences in probiotic consumers and non-consumers were assessed with χ2/Wilcoxon tests.To assess the relationship among probiotic consumption and BMI, we performed multiple linear regression while adjusting for confounders such as gender, race, age, Healthy Eating Index (HEI), Kcal consumption, physical activity and antibiotic use. Results of associations were analyzed separately for PF and PS, and weighted to reflect national estimates. ResultsStudy included 15,104,111 (13.8%) PF consumers and 94,421,839 (86.2%) non-consumers. PF consumers were generally female (63.2% vs. 51.6%), white (77.6% vs. 67.1%), older [mean (±SD) 48.54 ± 0.99 vs. 46.29 ± 0.55 years], had higher HEI [57.52 ± 0.86 vs. 52.33 ± 0.37] and Kcal consumption [3861.77 ± 63.70 vs. 3737.49 ± 31.62], but similar physical activity (46.9% vs. 46.9%) and antibiotic use (4.9% vs. 4.6%) compared to non-consumers.We also identified 1108,619 (1.1%) PS users and 101,698,442 (98.9%) non-users. Compared to non-users, PS users were commonly female (67.8% vs. 51.8%), white (84.5% vs. 66.4%), older [52.60 ± 3.11 vs. 46.36 ± 1.06 years], had higher HEI [60.92 ± 2.41 vs. 52.70 ± 0.37], similar physical activity (45.3% vs. 45.0%) and Kcal Consumption [3599.08 ± 182.06 vs. 3737.43 ± 31.83], but more antibiotic users (9.4% vs. 4.5%).After adjusting for confounders, the weighted mean BMI was 0.48 kg/m2 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) = (−0.68) – (−0.28)] lower for PF consumers than non-consumers. PS users had even lower weighted mean BMI [−1.10 kg/m2, 95% CI = (−1.71) – (−0.48)] compared to non-users. ConclusionsIn this large nationally representative population-based study, probiotic consumption via food or supplement was associated with lower body mass index. Funding SourcesNone.