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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1526690
Clinical Efficacy of Probiotic Supplementation in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
Miao Tian 1
Youyang Zhu 1
Shiyu Lu 2
Yuliang Qin 1
昕瑶 李 1 Tao Wang 1 Ying Guo 1* Hongling Shi 3*
Dongdong Qin 1*- 1 Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
- 2 The People’s Hospital of Mengzi, Mengzi, Yunnan, China
- 3 Third People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
We aimed to systematically evaluate and analyze the clinical efficacy of oral probiotics in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) based on the theory of "gut-joint axis". Methods: We searched PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and Wipro Database (CQVIP) databases for clinical randomized controlled trials of oral probiotics for the treatment of KOA. The literature was organized by Note express software, and the quality of the included literature was evaluated according to the Cochrane systematic evaluation method, and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results: Five randomized controlled trials with 694 participants were included in this study, and the results of the meta-analysis showed that the observation group experienced significant reductions in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index total score, visual analog score, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level compared to the control group, but did not show significant differences in improvement of stiffness and regulation of body weight. Conclusion: Oral probiotics had an ameliorative effect on function, pain, and inflammatory response in patients with KOA, but our results need to be validated in future large-scale studies.Systematic review registration: Prospero (CRD42024569273).
Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, Probiotics, clinical efficacy, Gut-joint axis, Systematic evaluation
Received: 14 Nov 2024; Accepted: 11 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tian, Zhu, Lu, Qin, 李, Wang, Guo, Shi and Qin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ying Guo, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Hongling Shi, Third People's Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Dongdong Qin, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
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