SynthesisFrontiers in public health2023
Effects of probiotics on neurocognitive outcomes in infants and young children: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effects of probiotics on cognitive function across the human lifespan: a meta-analysis.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Therapeutic effects of probiotics on symptoms of depression in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Comparative neuroprotective and exercise capacity effects of prophylactic intermittent fasting and probiotics in sleep-deprived rats: insights into anti-inflammatory marker modulation andFrontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Microecological modulators-new perspectives for treating sex hormone disorders.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- A Meta-analysis of Randomized Placebo-controlled Trials on the Effects of Probiotics for Autism Spectrum Disorders.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Review
- Gut Microbiota and Neurodevelopment in Preterm Infants: Mechanistic Insights and Prospects for Clinical Translation.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Evaluation of Faecal Microbiota Following Probiotics in Infants of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Trial: Protocol for Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.Microorganisms · 2025Article
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 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Therapeutic efficacies of probiotics in improving neurocognitive functions in infants and young children remained unclear. This meta-analysis focused on different cognitive outcomes in this population. Methods: Major databases were searched electronically from inception to October 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the therapeutic efficacy of probiotics in enhancing cognitive functions assessed by standardized tasks. The overall effect size was calculated as standardized mean difference (SMD) based on a random effects model. Results: Nine RCTs with 3,026 participants were identified. Both our primary and secondary results demonstrated no significant difference in neurocognitive outcomes between infants/children treated with probiotics and those receiving placebos. However, our subgroup analysis of studies that offered a probiotics treatment course of over six months demonstrated a significantly better neurocognitive outcome than placebos (SMD = 0.21, Conclusion: Despite lack of significant therapeutic effects of probiotics on neurocognitive outcomes, our finding of a positive impact of probiotics on neurocognitive development in those undergoing treatment for over six months may provide an important direction for further investigations into the enhancement of therapeutic effects of probiotics on neurocognitive development in infants and young children. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42023463412.
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.