Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41653707›Full record

ArticleMaturitas2026

Dietary intake of live microbes is inversely associated with fatigue and modified by serum folate among adults aged 40 years or more.

Galya Bigman, Amber S Kleckner, Yuanyuan Li, Elizabeth A Dennis, Alice S Ryan, John D Sorkin

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Maturitas, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Galya BigmanDivision of Gerontology, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: gbigman@som.umaryland.edu.
Amber S KlecknerDepartment of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Yuanyuan LiDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
Elizabeth A DennisDepartment of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Alice S RyanGeriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
John D SorkinGeriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.

Funding

University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM-OAIC)P30AG028747 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI Leslie I. Katzel, ALICE S. RYAN · 2006 to 2026
$28.9M
A Diet Intervention Study To Mitigate Fatigue Symptoms And To Improve Muscle And Physical Function In Older Adults With Post-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeK01AG078545 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI Galya Bigman · 2023 to 2026
$497k
NIA NIH HHS K01 AG078545NIA NIH HHS P30 AG028747
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate the independent associations between dietary live-microbe intake, as well as circulating levels of folate metabolites, and fatigue, and to examine their interaction as a potential biological pathway underlying fatigue in aging adults. STUDY

designCross-sectional analysis of adults aged ≥40 years participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2023.

main outcome measuresFatigue was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire fatigue item and categorized as none/low versus moderate/severe. Dietary intake of live-microbe foods was derived from two 24-h recalls and classified as low, medium, or high. Total serum concentrations folate and its metabolites, including 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, were quantified. Survey-weighted logistic regression, adjusted for sociodemographic, dietary, and clinical covariates, estimated main effects and interactions between the effects of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and of live-microbe intake; sensitivity analyses additionally adjusted for depressive symptoms and sleep disturbance.

resultsModerate/severe fatigue was reported by 16.3% of 14,376 participants and 15.0% reported no intake of live-microbe foods. High versus low live-microbe intake was associated with lower odds of moderate/severe fatigue (odds ratio [OR] 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.46-0.79). Higher serum 5-methyltetrahydrofolate levels were also associated with lower odds of moderate/severe fatigue (OR 0.85; 95% CI 0.73-0.98). In stratified analyses, high live-microbe intake corresponded to 38-65% lower odds of moderate/severe fatigue only among adults with higher levels of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, with no significant associations among those with lower levels.

conclusionsIntake of microbe-rich foods and higher levels of circulating 5-methyltetrahydrofolate are both associated with lower levels of fatigue in midlife and older adults, and folate sufficiency appears to potentiate the fatigue-reducing benefits of live-microbe foods, supporting a nutrient-microbe pathway relevant to healthy aging.

Indexed as

DietFatigueFolic AcidTetrahydrofolatesAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNutrition Surveys5-methyltetrahydrofolateFolic AcidTetrahydrofolatesAgingDiet qualityFatigueFolateLive microorganismsNHANES

Identifiers

PMID41653707
PMCPMC13317025

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.