Trial reportThe Journal of frailty & aging
Can a Prebiotic Formulation Reduce Frailty Levels in Older People?
Trial report in The Journal of frailty & aging. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 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
36 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the Role of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics Supplementation in Age-related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Older Adults: A Systematic Review.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Sarcopenia Parameters in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrition reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Validity of food additive maltodextrin as placebo and effects on human gut physiology: systematic review of placebo-controlled clinical trials.European journal of nutrition · 2022Pooled it
- Can probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics improve functional outcomes for older people: a systematic review.European geriatric medicine · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of Phenolic-Rich Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Prebiotics on Sarcopenia in Older Adults: FOOP-Sarc Project.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Trial
- Prebiotics improve frailty status in community-dwelling older individuals in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2024Trial
- Effect of gut microbiome modulation on muscle function and cognition: the PROMOTe randomised controlled trial.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- The gut microbiome and ageing trajectories: mechanisms and clinical implications.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- The microbiome-gut-brain axis: a new perspective on the pathogenesis and intervention of frailty.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Dietary intake of live microbes and its association with frailty in older adults: a NHANES analysis (1999-2018).BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Multidisciplinary, multicomponent interventions to reduce frailty among older persons in residents of residential care facilities: a scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Attenuates Frailty via Gut-Muscle Axis in Old Mice.Aging and disease · 2024Article
- The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Orthopedic Surgery-a Narrative Review.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2024Review
- Gut microbiota influence frailty syndrome in older adults: mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.Biogerontology · 2024Review
- Can Leucine Supplementation Improve Frailty Index Scores?Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- An Integrated Approach to Skeletal Muscle Health in Aging.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Data-driven health deficit assessment improves a frailty index's prediction of current cognitive status and future conversion to dementia: results from ADNI.GeroScience · 2023Article
- The gut microbiota is an emerging target for improving brain health during ageing.Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine whether a prebiotic formulation reduces frailty index (FI) levels in older people.
designWe conducted secondary analysis of a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind design study. SETTING/
participantsThe study included non-demented people over the age of 65 who were living in nursing homes and were able to walk. Fifty participants completed the study (75.3±7.3 years, 70% females).
interventionParticipants were randomly assigned to either a group who received daily Darmocare Pre® (inulin and fructooligosaccharides) for 13 weeks or a placebo group (maltodextrin). MEASUREMENT: The primary outcome in this secondary analysis was change in level of a 62-item FI compared to baseline.
resultsAt the 13-week follow-up, the placebo group had higher FI levels (preFI 0.23±0.11, postFI 0.24±0.12, p=0.012) and the intervention group had lower FI levels (preFI 0.22±0.09, postFI 0.20±0.08, p<0.001). There was an average increase of 0.01±0.01 in the FI score in the placebo group (0.4 deficits; Cohen's d 0.61; standardized response mean 0.59) and an average reduction of 0.02±0.02 in the intervention group (1.1 deficits; Cohen's d -1.35; standardized response mean -1.16). Among the 28 participants in the intervention group, FI levels were reduced for 25 people; five of them had an FI reduction greater than 0.03. The moderately/severely frail participants (FI >0.3, N=5) had the greatest reduction in their FI (0.04±0.01).
conclusionA prebiotic intervention can reduce frailty levels in nursing home residents especially in those with higher levels of frailty.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.