Probiotics and synbiotics improve dyslipidemia in diabetic patients: Study

In a new study conducted by Zeinab Ghorbani and colleagues found that probiotics and synbiotics have shown to improve dyslipidemia and other lipid indices in people with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The findings of this study were published in Cardiovascular Research.

Although the existing research highlights probiotics' positive benefits in regulating several cardiometabolic indicators, there is still much controversy in this area. As a result, this study was performed in order to more clearly evaluate the impact sizes of probiotics on blood lipid markers.

From conception until 12 February 2021, a comprehensive literature search of the Medline (PubMed) and Scopus databases was done, using both MeSH keywords and free text terms to discover relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The meta-analysis used a random-effect model to compute the mean effect sizes, which were shown as weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The Cochrane 2 test and Galbraith plot analysis were used to investigate heterogeneity.

The key highlights of this study were:

Meta-examination of information from 40 RCTs (n = 2795) demonstrated a huge lessening in serum/plasma fatty oil [WMD (95% CI) = - 12.26 (- 17.11 to - 7.41) mg/dL; P-esteem <0.001; I2 (%) = 29.9; P heterogeneity = 0.034], all out cholesterol (with high heterogeneity) (WMD (95% CI) = - 8.43 (- 11.90 to - 4.95) mg/dL; P-esteem <0.001; I2 (%) = 56.8; P heterogeneity < 0.001), LDL-C [WMD (95% CI) = - 5.08 (- 7.61, - 2.56) mg/dL; P-esteem <0.001; I2 (%) = 42.7; P heterogeneity = 0.002], and HDL-C (with high heterogeneity) (WMD (95% CI) = 1.14 (0.23, 2.05) mg/dL; P-esteem = 0.014; I2 (%) = 59.8; P heterogeneity < 0.001) following getting probiotic/synbiotic supplements.

In conclusion, preliminary research suggests that probiotics and synbiotics have a significant impact on reducing dyslipidemia, especially in those with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. However, large, carefully executed RCTs are necessary, nonetheless, to further bolster these findings with evidence that is compelling.

Reference: 

Ghorbani, Z., Kazemi, A., U.P. Bartolomaeus, T., Martami, F., Noormohammadi, M., Salari, A., Löber, U., Balou, H. A., & Mahdavi-Roshan, M. (2022). The effect of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on lipid parameters among patients with cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials. In Cardiovascular Research. Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvac128