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Probiotics are a multi-billion dollar international industry, but a new study conducted on Wednesday showed that they did not help kids better recover from an intestinal flu than a placebo .
The results of two randomized clinical trials – which reached the same conclusions – were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Probiotics have had no effect on children," said co-author Phillip Tarr, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, adding that the findings of the survey do not have any impact on children. Were "not ambiguous".
"It's better for parents to save their money and use it to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables for their children."
Probiotics are gaining popularity, the global market is expected to grow from $ 37 billion in 2015 to $ 64 billion in 2023, according to the report.
Five of the world's top 12 medical groups currently approve of their use as a means of promoting intestinal health by restoring intestinal flora by creating "good bacteria" in children's bodies.
Those who recommend probiotics are the European Society of Hepatology and Nutrition for Pediatric Gastroenterology, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
For a study conducted in the United States, researchers tested a popular brand of probiotics, sold under the name of Culturelle.
In total, 971 children aged three months to four years were enrolled in the study.
All sought emergency room care for gastroenteritis, an intestinal condition that can be caused by a virus or bacterial infection, along with symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.
The children were randomly assigned to receive a five-day placebo or cultural treatment containing the bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.
A pack of 30, promoted as "the number one daily probiotic recommended by the pediatrician", costs about $ 20.
But researchers found that children who took the probiotic showed no difference in duration of illness or severity of symptoms, compared to children taking a sugar pill.
Read also: It's probably why your child falls too often sick
– A clear message & # 39; –
The second study, conducted in Canada, used a product called Lacidofil Strong, containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and L. helveticus R0052.
More than 800 children were randomized to receive either a five-day course or a placebo.
The difference was so small that the researchers said it was not statistically significant.
"Moderate to severe gastroenteritis occurred within 14 days of recruitment in 108 of the 414 participants (26.1%) assigned to probiotics and 102 of the 413 participants (24.7%) assigned to the placebo ", says the report.
The group that received probiotics did not experience less vomiting or diarrhea, shorter duration of illness, fewer follow-up visits to the doctor or fewer complications.
The latest findings are consistent with at least one earlier, smaller study, although most studies to date have been generally favorable to probiotics.
Co-author Stephen Freedman, pediatric emergency physician at Alberta Health Services, explained that this is because most of these studies have been modest and funded by the industry.
The new duo of randomized clinical trials, "taken together, is very powerful," he said.
"The results show that children treated with probiotics have exactly the same results for a wide range of symptoms as those receiving placebo," he added.
"The results clearly indicate that we need to challenge the role and benefits of probiotics for other health applications, through extensive, rigorous, patient-focused clinical trials."
According to Sophia Jan, chief of pediatrics at the Cohen Pediatric Medical Center, "until now, the evidence was not very clear," and the medical community had been much debating the usefulness of the OTC probiotics in the treatment of childhood. gastroenteritis.
Jan, who has not participated in any of these studies, described them as "historical" and stated that they offered "the best quality science that would convince pediatric service providers that probiotics do not exist. Do not really help much. "
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