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Randomized trial · measured the question itself

4-week trial in 79 older adults: no clear difference in main constipation score

Takeda and colleagues · The American journal of gastroenterology · 2023

Original title: Usefulness of Bifidobacterium longum BB536 in Elderly Individuals With Chronic Constipation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Under review. A person has not yet checked this summary against the paper. It is written from the PubMed abstract. Until a person checks it, search engines are asked not to list this page.

What the study found

No difference

The main constipation score did not differ between groups (P = 0.074). Stool frequency improved more with the probiotic (P = 0.008), and failure of evacuation showed a trend (P = 0.051).

The study at a glance

Type of study
Randomized trial
Who or what was studied
79 people · 80 older adults (average age 77.9) with long-term constipation; 79 finished
What was tested
Bifidobacterium longum BB536, 5 × 10 10 CFU a day, vs placebo for up to 4 weeks
What it measured
The question itself: gut symptoms such as bloating, pain and irregular bowels
Daily amount
5e+10 CFU a day
How long
4 weeks
Trial registration
UMIN 000033031
Who has a stake
No disclosure in PubMed
Authors are members of a Juntendo University microbiota research department that funded the study; no company named.
Journal
The American journal of gastroenterology, 2023
Source
PubMed record 36216361. This page is based on the abstract only.

How much this study counts

  • ✓Randomized: people were put into groups by chance, so the groups start out alike.
  • ✓Compared with a placebo, a dummy treatment.
  • •Medium size: 79 people.
  • –Short: 4 weeks. Longer-term effects are unknown.
  • ✓Measured the question itself: gut symptoms such as bloating, pain and irregular bowels.
  • •The PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement.
  • •Summarized from the PubMed abstract only. The full paper may hold details the abstract leaves out.

✓ Strength– Limit• Note

These points come from fixed rules about the type of study, its size and length, what it measured, and who has a stake. Every study on Digestery gets the same rules.

Where this study sits

Each dot is one on-topic paper on this question. Steps near the top answer the question more directly.

↑ Stronger evidence

  1. Trials in people: gut symptoms such as bloating and IBS

    9

    5 benefit, 2 mixed, 2 no difference

    ↑ This study is the ringed dot

  2. Trials in people: other measures

    10

    4 benefit, 2 mixed, 4 no difference

  3. Trials in people: lab tests or safety

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  4. Population studies

    0

    None among the papers we read.

  5. Blood levels and genes

    0

    None among the papers we read.

↓ Weaker evidence

  • Points to benefit
  • Mixed
  • No difference
  • No direction
  • Points to harm

How it fits with the other research

The short answer to “Do probiotics improve gut health?”

Some strains may help some symptoms.

Confidence: low. Based on 28 on-topic papers.

Read the full answer

Of the other 8 papers on the same step: 5 benefit, 2 mixed, 1 no difference. This one found no difference. It differs from most of them.

Other papers on the same step

See all 28 studies on this question

How this page was made

Label

First read of the abstract
Claude Sonnet
Independent second read
Claude Haiku
Differences settled
The two reads differed. The reviewer checked the abstract and kept the first read. Claude Opus 5.5.
Headline
Claude Sonnet, from the checked study record. A script checked its numbers and wording.
Numbers
Checked against the abstract by a script
“How much this study counts”
Fixed rules, the same for every study
Source check by a person
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