Tendency to Consume Probiotics in the General Population: An Ecological Study

Abstract

Background: Reports indicate that probiotics have beneficial effects on both the prevention and treatment of numerous diseases. Objectives: This study aims to explore the overall inclination toward probiotic consumption, its trends, and its association with common gastrointestinal diseases. Methods: We conducted an ecological study utilizing Google Trends (GTs) and Global Concern data. We analyzed search terms related to “probiotic," “Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)," “Peptic," “Constipation," “Diarrhea," and “Stomach Cancer (SC)" across all searches performed on GTs from January 2014 to July 2023. Results: Globally and in Iran, there has been an increasing interest in consuming probiotics over time. This increase is linked to a rise in cases of stomach cancer and irritable bowel syndrome, which, in turn, boosts the propensity to utilize probiotics. Globally, there is a direct correlation between probiotic consumption and IBS (R = +0.69, P = 0.0001), peptic disorders (R = +0.71, P = 0.001), Constipation (R = +0.93, P = 0.001), and diarrhea (R = +0.89, P = 0.001). In Iran, significant direct correlations were found between probiotic consumption and both constipation (R = +0.36, P = 0.001) and diarrhea (R = +0.40, P = 0.001). Among probiotic-containing products, yogurt was preferred over others worldwide and in Iran. Conclusions: The interest in probiotic use is high globally and in Iran. Consequently, there is a need for strategies to educate the public about the areas where the benefits of probiotics are well-supported by evidence and where information is either weak or lacking.