title: Decreased duration of acute upper respiratory tract infections with daily intake of fermented milk: a multicenter, double-blinded, randomized comparative study in users of day care facilities for the elderly population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is insufficient evidence of preventive effect of probiotics on upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in an elderly population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled parallel group study. Elderly persons had participated who used day care at 4 facilities in Tokyo. We used fermented milks containing Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota (LcS) and placebo drinks as test drinks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 154 subjects was analyzed. The number of persons diagnosed with an acute URTIs was almost identical in both groups (LcS: 31, placebo: 32), whereas the number of acute URTIs events (LcS: 68, placebo: 51) and the symptom score (LcS: 425, placebo: 396) were both higher in the LcS group. Permutation tests performed using the total number of acute URTIs infection events/total days of observation and the total symptom score/total days of observation found no statistically significant difference respectively (P values of .89 and .64, respectively). Comparing the mean duration of infection per infection event found a shorter mean duration in the LcS group (LcS: 3.71 days, placebo: 5.40 days), and the difference was statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that fermented milk containing LcS probably reduces the duration of acute URTIs.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Support Center, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: retsu-tky@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Retsu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iimuro
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shinozaki
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakamaki
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.forename: Ayano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohashi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003611:Dairy Products; D003631:Day Care, Medical; D004032:Diet / Q000379:methods*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010919:Placebos / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors; D014041:Tokyo
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos
keywords: Compromised host; Geriatric health services; Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota; Probiotics