Abstract
There is considerable interest in the role of probiotics in immune function. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of the consumption of a fermented dairy drink containing Lacticaseibacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-1518 (the previous taxonomic nomenclature was Lactobacillus casei CNCM I-1518, prior to the nomenclature change in April 2020) and the standard yogurt cultures (hereinafter referred to collectively as “FDD”) on common infectious diseases (CIDs) in generally healthy children and adults. Nine literature databases were searched, and nine randomized controlled trials from eight publications were eligible for inclusion. Combined effect sizes were determined for three metrics of CID incidence, two metrics of CID duration, and one metric of CID severity. Compared to the control, the consumption of the FDD resulted in (1) a significant reduction in the odds of experiencing ≥1 CID (odds ratio (OR) (with a 95% confidence interval (CI)): 0.81 (0.66, 0.98); p = 0.029); (2) a significant reduction in mean CIDs per subject (−0.09 (−0.15, −0.04); p = 0.001); and (3) a trend towards reduced risk in cumulative CIDs (relative risk (RR): 0.91 (0.82, 1.01); p = 0.082). The consumption of the FDD had no significant effect on CID duration or severity. Based on the studies conducted thus far, these results suggest that the FDD may reduce CID incidence in the general population.
Highlights
Common infectious diseases (CIDs) continue to contribute to the global non-fatal disease burden [1].Though the term CID has not been formally defined by an authoritative or scientific body, CIDs are generally recognized to include respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and gastrointestinal tract infections (GITIs) [2]
Nutrients 2020, 12, 3443 includes global estimates of the incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 conditions across 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017, the number of incident cases was 17.1 billion for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), 470,000 for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and 6.29 billion for infectious diarrheal diseases in 2017 [1]
URTIs and infectious diarrheal diseases were consistently reported to be two of the three diseases with the highest global incidence rates between 1990 and 2017 [1]. Due to their high incidence rates, CIDs are associated with substantial direct medical costs, such as physician visits, hospitalizations, and medications, as well as indirect medical costs incurred from the loss of productivity and absenteeism from work or school, resulting in increased economic burden [3,4,5,6,7,8]
Summary
Common infectious diseases (CIDs) continue to contribute to the global non-fatal disease burden [1].Though the term CID has not been formally defined by an authoritative or scientific body, CIDs are generally recognized to include respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and gastrointestinal tract infections (GITIs) [2]. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3443 includes global estimates of the incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 conditions across 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017, the number of incident cases was 17.1 billion for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), 470,000 for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), and 6.29 billion for infectious diarrheal diseases in 2017 [1]. URTIs and infectious diarrheal diseases were consistently reported to be two of the three diseases with the highest global incidence rates between 1990 and 2017 [1] Due to their high incidence rates, CIDs are associated with substantial direct medical costs, such as physician visits, hospitalizations, and medications, as well as indirect medical costs incurred from the loss of productivity and absenteeism from work or school, resulting in increased economic burden [3,4,5,6,7,8]. CIDs have been reported to have significant adverse effects on the quality of life of patients and their families [5,9,10,11,12]
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