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Review
. 2019 Mar 20;11(3):671.
doi: 10.3390/nu11030671.

The Effect of Probiotic Yogurt on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity: A Meta-Analysis of Nine Randomized Controlled Trials

Elena Barengolts  1   2 , Emily Daviau Smith  3   4 , Sirimon Reutrakul  5 , Livia Tonucci  6 , Thunyarat Anothaisintawee  7
Affiliations
Review

The Effect of Probiotic Yogurt on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes or Obesity: A Meta-Analysis of Nine Randomized Controlled Trials

Elena Barengolts et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Probiotic yogurt is suggested as a nutritional approach in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of probiotic yogurt on glycemic outcomes in T2D or obesity. The databases used to search for RCTs included Medline and Scopus. The RCTs were eligible if outcomes included selected glycemic markers. In nine eligible trials, 237 and 235 subjects were in treatment (probiotic yogurt) and control (mostly conventional yogurt) groups, respectively. There was no significant difference for pooled unstandardized mean difference (USMD) hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) by probiotic yogurt compared with the control in T2D (USMD: -0.366; 95% CI: -0.755, 0.024, p = 0.066) and obesity (USMD: 0.116, 95% CI: -0.007, 0.238, p = 0.065). Similarly, there were no effects of probiotic yogurt on fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, or insulin resistance (estimated by homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)) in either T2D or obesity. In conclusion, the present meta-analysis has not demonstrated the benefits of consuming probiotic compared with conventional yogurt for improving glucose control in patients with diabetes or obesity. Larger trials are needed to verify the benefits of probiotic and/or conventional yogurt or other probiotic fermented milk (e.g., kefir) on glycemic markers in patients with diabetes and obesity.

Keywords: HOMA-IR; a meta-analysis; body mass index; conventional yogurt; glucose; hemoglobin A1c; kefir; obesity; probiotic yogurt; randomized controlled trials; type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of trial selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of (A) bias graph and (B) risk of bias summary in nine trials.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of publication bias. The funnel plots (A) HbA1c, (B) fasting blood glucose, and (C) the contour-enhanced funnel plot for HbA1c.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plots for the effect of probiotic yogurt in T2D on (A) HbA1c, (B) FBG, and (C) insulin compared with the control in pooled analysis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plots for the effect of probiotic yogurt in T2D on (A) HbA1c, (B) FBG, and (C) insulin compared with the control in pooled analysis.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plots for the effect of probiotic yogurt in obesity on (A) HbA1c, (B) FBG, and (C) insulin compared with the control in pooled analysis. T2D insulin data were only available in a single trial precluding the meta-analysis.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Forest plots for the effect of probiotic yogurt in obesity on (A) HbA1c, (B) FBG, and (C) insulin compared with the control in pooled analysis. T2D insulin data were only available in a single trial precluding the meta-analysis.
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