Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1-9. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1900997.
Gut microbiome manipulation to alter the gut-lung axis may potentially protect humans against respiratory infections, and clinical trials of probiotics show promise in this regard in healthy adults and children. However, comparable studies are lacking in overweight/obese people, who have increased risks in particular of viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). This further analyses our recent placebo-controlled trial of probiotics in overweight/obese people (focused initially on weight loss) to investigate the impact of probiotics upon the occurrence of URTI symptoms. As well as undergoing loss of weight and improvement in certain metabolic parameters, study participants taking probiotics experienced a 27% reduction in URTI symptoms control, with those ≥45 years or BMI ≥30 kg/m experiencing greater reductions. This symptom reduction is apparent within 2 weeks of probiotic use. Gut microbiome diversity remained stable throughout the study in probiotic-treated participants. Our data provide support for further trials to assess the potential role of probiotics in preventing viral URTI (and possibly also COVID-19), particularly in overweight/obese people.
肠道微生物组的操纵可以改变肠道-肺部轴，从而可能保护人类免受呼吸道感染，而益生菌的临床试验在这方面显示出对健康成年人和儿童的前景。然而，超重/肥胖人群缺乏可比的研究，他们特别是有更高的病毒上呼吸道感染（URTI）风险。本研究进一步分析了我们最近在超重/肥胖人群中进行的益生菌安慰剂对照试验（最初集中在减肥方面），以调查益生菌对 URTI 症状发生的影响。除了体重减轻和某些代谢参数的改善外，服用益生菌的研究参与者的 URTI 症状减少了 27%，而年龄≥45 岁或 BMI≥30kg/m 的参与者的减少幅度更大。这种症状的减少在益生菌使用后 2 周内就很明显。在益生菌治疗组中，肠道微生物组的多样性在整个研究期间保持稳定。我们的数据为进一步评估益生菌预防病毒性 URTI（可能还有 COVID-19）的潜在作用提供了支持，特别是在超重/肥胖人群中。
