Use of a fermented dairy probiotic drink containing Lactobacillus casei (DN-114 001) to decrease the rate of illness in kids: the DRINK study A patient-oriented, double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 64; no. 7; pp. 669 - 677
• Main Authors: Merenstein, D, Murphy, M, Fokar, A, Hernandez, R.K, Park, H, Nsouli, H, Sanders, M.E, Davis, B.A, Niborski, V, Tondu, F, Shara, N.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.07.2010; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/308/2779/109; 692/699/255; 692/700/565/2072; antimicrobial properties; attitudes and opinions; beverages; Child; child nutrition; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Clinical Nutrition; Clinical trials; Communicable Disease Control; Communicable Diseases; Communicable Diseases - epidemiology; Communicable diseases in children; Dairy Products; daycare absences; diet; dietary supplements; disease incidence; disease prevention; District of Columbia; District of Columbia - epidemiology; Double-Blind Method; DRINK study; Enriched foods; Epidemiology; experimental diets; Female; Fermentation; Fermented milk; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases - epidemiology; Gastrointestinal Diseases - prevention & control; Health aspects; health status; human behavior; human health; Humans; Illnesses; Incidence; infection; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Lacticaseibacillus casei; Lactobacillus; Lactobacillus casei; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Metropolitan areas; Nutrition research; Original; original-article; parents; preschool children; Prevention; prevention & control; Probiotics; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Public Health; randomized clinical trials; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections - epidemiology; Respiratory Tract Infections - prevention & control; school absences; Schools; therapeutic use; District of Columbia; United States; clinical trial; infections; functional foods; probiotics
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.65

Background: To evaluate whether a fermented dairy drink containing the probiotic strain Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 could reduce the incidence of common infectious diseases (CIDs) and the change of behavior because of illness in children. Subjects/Methods: We conducted a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled allocation concealment clinical trial in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Participants were 638 children 3–6 years old in daycare/schools. The intervention was a fermented dairy drink containing a specific probiotic strain or matching placebo with no live cultures for 90 consecutive days. Two primary outcomes were assessed: incidence of CIDs and change of behavior because of illness (both assessed by parental report). Results: The rate of change of behavior because of illness was similar among active and control groups. However, the incidence rate for CIDs in the active group (0.0782) is 19% lower than that of the control group (0.0986) (incidence rate ratio=0.81, 95% CI: 0.65, 099) P=0.046. Conclusions: Daily intake of a fermented dairy drink containing the probiotic strain L. casei DN-114 001 showed some promise in reducing overall incidence of illness, but was primarily driven by gastrointestinal infections and there were no differences in change of behavior.