SynthesisFrontiers in nutrition2022
Health Benefits of Probiotics in Sport and Exercise - Non-existent or a Matter of Heterogeneity? A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 11 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects ofFrontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of probiotic intake on athletic ability in healthy people: a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- It's Dead! Can Postbiotics Really Help Performance and Recovery? A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on gastrointestinal outcomes in healthy adults and active adults at rest and in response to exercise-A systematic literature review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- From Mechanisms to Practice: Gut Microbiome-Based Strategies for Supporting Recovery in Elite Athletes.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Exploring the Gut Microbiome in Combat Sports: A Systematic Scoping Review.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Training modality-specific differences in body composition, resting metabolic rate, diet, and gut microbial signatures in elite endurance and strength athletes.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Article
- Mechanism of Action and Beneficial Effects of Probiotics in Amateur and Professional Athletes.Food science & nutrition · 2025Review
- A systematic scoping review of study methodology for randomized controlled trials investigating probiotics in athletic and physically active populations.Journal of sport and health science · 2024Article
- Effect of ProbioticInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The use of probiotics in sports has been growing in recent years, as up to 50% of athletes suffer from training- and performance-limiting gastrointestinal (GI) problems. Moreover, repeated exhaustive exercise and high training loads may lead to a transiently depressed immune function, associated with an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Aim: To provide a qualitative analysis of probiotic effects on URTI, GI symptoms and the immune system in healthy individuals under consideration of performance level as main classifier. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted (PubMed, SPORTDiscus with Full Text, Web of Science) to analyze the effects of probiotics in athletes and healthy active individuals on GI problems, URTI, and the immune system. A qualitative synthesis with performance level and treatment duration as main classifiers was performed. Results: Of 41 eligible studies, 24 evaluated the effects of probiotic supplements in athletes, 10 in recreationally active individuals and 7 in healthy untrained adults. Large heterogeneity was observed in terms of probiotic strains, mode of delivery, performance level, treatment duration and outcome assessment. Overall, studies provided inconsistent observations. Conclusion: The effects of probiotics on immune system, URTI, and GI symptoms in athletes, healthy adults and recreationally active individuals remain inconclusive. Based on the analyzed studies and identified parameters, this article provides suggestions to align future research on the effects of probiotics in exercise. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021245840.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.