Probiotics for the prevention of atopic dermatitis in infants from different geographic regions: a systematic review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease during infancy, but the preventive effect of probiotics on AD remains unclear.

Aim

To evaluate the efficacy of probiotic supplementation for the prevention of AD in infants.

Methods

PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were reviewed for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two authors independently extracted the data. The primary endpoint was the risk of AD in infants. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.

Results

A total of 20 related articles including 22 studies were included. A significant reduction in AD risk was revealed for the probiotic group compared to the control group (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.67–0.87). Subgroup analyses by participant receiving intervention revealed that not only probiotics given to mother (RR 0.70; 95% CI 0.57-0.85) or given to mother and infant (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.61-0.95) were effective in preventing AD in infants, and probiotics given to infants alone (RR 0.76; 95% CI 0.60-0.96) still effectively decreased the risk of AD.

Conclusion

Probiotic supplementation reduced the risk of developing AD in infants. Furthermore, probiotic supplementation given to mother or to mother and infant could effectively prevent AD in infants.

Keywords:

• Probiotics
• Atopic dermatitis
• Randomized controlled trials
• Meta-analysis

Acknowledgments

Not applicable.

Authors' contributions

Guixia Chen conceived and supervised the study; Guixia Chen designed experiments; Lifeng Chen, Yongshan Ni, Xingdong Wu performed experiments and collected the data; Guixia Chen, Lifeng Chen, Yongshan Ni and Xingdong Wu wrote the manuscript; Guixia Chen made manuscript revisions. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by ‘The Cohort Research on Infants Allergic Diseases’ from the National Center for Women and Children’s Health, China CDC.