The Effectiveness of Probiotics in Treating Food and Cow's Milk Allergies among Pediatric Age Group: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Apr 30;22(2):124-137. doi: 10.18502/ijaai.v22i2.12674.ABSTRACTThe global prevalence of allergies is on the rise. Food allergies are of special concern among children under 5 years of age, leading to morbidity and mortality. Though the standard management is avoidance, probiotics are being used widely to prevent and treat food allergies. We aimed to determine the effect of probiotics as a therapeutic option for controlling food and cow's milk allergy among children under 5 years of age. A systematic search of electronic medical literature databases was conducted. We included all eligible randomized controlled trials available from inception until May 2021. The primary outcome of interest was the relief of allergic symptoms, while the secondary outcome was the induction of tolerance. Two investigators undertook the literature search, screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal independently. Data analysis and synthesis were performed using STATA 14 software. Subgroup analysis was performed for the duration of use and follow-up, and the age category of children included in the outcome were done. Twenty trials involving 4043 pediatric patients with food allergies were included in the review. Subgroup analysis also revealed that probiotics were effective in treating food allergies across the various subgroups included in the model. Around 15 trials reported our primary outcome, relief of symptoms, as a binary variable, which was pooled to ...
Source: Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Source Type: research