Synbiotics beneficial to older adults with diabetes

A multi-species synbiotic preparation appears to improve outcomes in older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and high cardiovascular risk, according to a study.

The study included 85 patients with T2DM aged ≥65 years with high cardiovascular risk. They were randomly assigned to synbiotic supplements containing a multi-species probiotic plus fructooligosaccharide as a prebiotic (n=43; mean age 69.79 years, 53.5 percent male) or placebo supplements (n=42; mean age 71.52 years, 34.3 percent male) for 4 months.

The primary outcome was weight change. Secondary outcomes included body fat mass, lean body mass, and biochemical parameters, including glucose metabolism indices, lipid profile, and adhesion molecules.

Compared with patients in the placebo group, those in the synbiotic group showed greater reductions in weight (difference, −1.16 kg, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −1.36 to −0.97), BMI (difference, −0.44 kg/m², 95 percent CI, −0.36 to −0.51), and body fat mass (difference, −0.99 kg, 95 percent CI, −1.05 to −0.93; p<0.001 for all).

Moreover, the synbiotic vs the placebo group had more favourable improvements in mean serum low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (difference, −10.83 mg/dl, 95 percent CI, −14.78 to −6.88; p=0.002), total cholesterol (difference, −11.78 mg/dl, 95 percent CI, −16.44 to −7.11; p=0.012), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (difference, −85.70 ng/L, 95 percent CI, −150.14 to −21.26; p<0.001), fasting plasma glucose (difference, −22.83 mg/dl, 95 percent CI, −31.30 to −14.36; p=0.003), and HOMA-IR (difference, −1.3, 95 percent CI, −1.75 to −0.86; p=0.001).

The findings suggest that synbiotics may have health-promoting effect in older adults with diabetes.