Probiotics in Asthma and Allergy Prevention

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Immunology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Interest in probiotics for infant health is growing, with research linking infant microbiome alterations to health outcomes.
• A healthy gut microbiota is crucial for developing immune tolerance, and probiotics may offer protection against diseases.
• Analyzing gut dysbiosis in food allergy is complex due to varied study designs and methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current evidence on probiotics and their role in infant health, particularly concerning food allergy.
• To highlight the challenges in studying probiotics' effects on the infant gut microbiome and immune development.
• To assess the existing recommendations for probiotic use in allergy prevention and treatment.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies on probiotics, infant microbiome, and immune tolerance.
• Analysis of interventional studies investigating probiotic effects on disease development.
• Evaluation of factors complicating dysbiosis analysis in food allergy subjects.

Main Results:

• While in vitro evidence for probiotics is valid, clinical data supporting their use in allergy and asthma prevention is insufficient.
• Current scientific societies do not recommend pre- or probiotics for treating food allergies, with prevention use based on limited evidence.
• Significant heterogeneity exists across studies, hindering direct comparisons and definitive conclusions.

Conclusions:

• There is insufficient evidence to recommend specific probiotics for preventing allergy and asthma in infants.
• Further high-quality research is required to establish the efficacy and safety of probiotics in this context.
• Current recommendations for probiotic use in allergy prevention are based on limited scientific backing.