There have been some studies published in our journal and others suggesting the benefits of probiotics in reducing infections (viral and bacterial) in infants and toddlers in child care, prompting more and more interest in using probiotics to keep young children healthy. This week another study is added to that list but with a different result. Laursen et al (10.1542/peds.2017-0735) report on their randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study of infants ages 8 to 14 months enrolled in child care. The participants in this study were either given a combination of two probiotics (Bifidobacterium animalis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus) every day for 6 months or a placebo. Outcomes included absence from child care, infectious symptoms, and doctor visits.
The results show no statistically significant difference between infants receiving the probiotics or placebo across the range of outcomes. So should you not spend time reading this study because it has a negative result? Just the opposite—in that you need to read this study carefully as well as an accompanying editorial by Drs. Michael Cabana of UCSF and Daniel Merenstein of Georgetown to better understand how these results need to be interpreted when compared with other studies that show the positive effects of probiotics (10.1542/peds.2017-1729). In this study almost half the infants were breastfed, which can affect the microbiome favorably and perhaps diminish the role of probiotics —thus reducing the benefits as reported in this article. The authors of both the study and commentary have a lot more to say about how this study fits into the world of probiotic trials so take a few minutes to ingest both to better understand probiotics and the role they may or may not be playing in reducing infections for young children in child care.
