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Probiotics Linked to Reduced Mortality in Infants Born Before 34 Weeks

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 12, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 12, 2025 -- For infants born before 34 weeks of gestation and with a birth weight <1,000 g, probiotics used in neonatal units are associated with reduced mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 12 in Pediatrics.

Belal N. Alshaikh, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine in Alberta, Canada, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving infants born before 34 weeks of gestation and admitted to 33 Canadian Neonatal Network units from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2022. The effectiveness and risks for probiotics were examined among infants born before 34 weeks of gestation and with a birth weight <1,000 g.

The researchers found that 57.5 and 42.5 percent of the 32,667 eligible infants received probiotics and did not receive probiotics, respectively. Probiotics were associated with reduced mortality rates (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 98.3 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.53 to 0.73), but not with reduced rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (aOR, 0.92; 98.3 percent CI, 0.78 to 1.09) or late-onset sepsis (aOR, 0.90; 98.3 percent CI, 0.80 to 1.01). Probiotics were associated with reduced mortality rates in the 7,401 infants with a birth weight <1,000 g (aOR, 0.58; 98.3 percent CI, 0.47 to 0.71), but not with decreased rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (aOR, 0.90; 98.3 percent CI, 0.71 to 1.13) or late-onset sepsis (aOR, 1.01; 98.3 percent CI, 0.86 to 1.18). In 27 and 20 infants born before 34 weeks of gestation and with a birth weight <1,000 g, probiotic sepsis occurred (1.4 and 4.0 per 1,000, respectively). Three infants with probiotic sepsis died; in two cases, probiotic sepsis was deemed a possible cause.

"Our findings can help health care providers counsel parents on the benefits and risks of probiotics," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted February 2025

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