The efficacy of probiotics supplementation for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Yajia Li, Beisi Zhang, Jia Guo, Ziqin Cao, Minxue Shen
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a lack of certain evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of probiotics for adult atopic dermatitis (AD). METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database were searched for relevant studies, and randomized controlled trials of AD describing treatment with single/mixed probiotic therapy were included. Changes in outcomes were calculated by standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Relative efficacies of the probiotics were ranked by the surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA). RESULTS: Nine studies with a total of 402 participants, including 208 AD patients who received probiotic treatments and 194 controls, were considered during the current analysis. A reduction in disease severity for probiotic supplementation compared to controls in both the short term (SMD: 0.63; 95% CI: 0.02-1.25) and the long term (SMD: 1.57; 95% CI: 0.66-2.49). There was a significant improvement in long-term quality of life after probiotic supplementation compared with controls (SMD: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.39-1.09). A mixture of L. salivarius (LS01) and Bifidobacterium (BR03) was found the highest probability of the best supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: Probiotic supplementation decreases clinical severity and improves the quality of life among adult AD patients. The mixture of LS01 and BR03 appeared optimal.