Effectiveness of probiotics for preventing infections in the elderly: systematic review and meta-analysis

• Grant number: 15/03349-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Paulo José Fortes Villas Bôas
• Grantee: Paulo José Fortes Villas Bôas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Adriana Polachini Do Valle ; Patrick Alexander Wachholz

Abstract

Although no communicable diseases (such as cancer, heart failure, and diabetes) are predominant causes of death among elders, the impact of infections is more significant in this population. Nutritional interventions, like probiotics, have been recommended as promising alternatives, in an attempt to reduce the impact of infectious diseases in the elderlyObjectives: Systematic review in order to evaluate the effectiveness of probiotics in the prevention of infection elderly living in the community and in Long Term Care Facilities.MethodsIt will search the following databases for relevant studies: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) published in The Cochrane Library; MEDLINE (Pubmed); EMBASE (OVID); ISI Web of Science and LILACS. Randomized controlled trials are included. Participant: studies that recruited elderly (aged 65 years or more), regardless of gender, Comorbidities and functional or cognitive State, who live in the community or in LTFC and that has no clinical or laboratory diagnosis or signs of infection at the beginning of the study. Intervention: any intervention with specific and identified probiotic strains. Comparators: only placebo interventions. Primary outcomes 1) infection prevention: number of patients who did not develop an infection; 2) incidence of non-fatal adverse events 3) mortality: number of patients which evolved into death. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

WACHHOLZ, PATRICK ALEXANDER; NUNES, VANIA DOS SANTOS; DO VALLE, ADRIANA POLACHINI; JACINTO, ALESSANDRO FERRARI; FORTES VILLAS-BOAS, PAULO JOSE. Effectiveness of probiotics on the occurrence of infections in older people: systematic review and meta-analysis. AGE AND AGEING, v. 47, n. 4, p. 527-536, JUL 2018. (15/03349-0)