Knowledge, awareness, and usage of probiotics among Hungarian adults: An explorative survey

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of probiotic products in Hungary, to explore consumers' knowledge of probiotics, and to gain information about the main characteristics of current usage.

Materials and Methods

The research used a self-developed explorative questionnaire to obtain the necessary information. The data collected was further analysed with IBM SPSS 25.0 and Microsoft Office Excel.

Results

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73.9%) have used probiotics in their life. Those who have already used these products, mostly heard about them from doctors (62.8%) and friends/relatives (40.5%), while among non-users the main sources of information were web pages (46.8%) and commercials (45.2%).

Conclusions

We found several differences between users and non-users in terms of probiotics awareness. Consequently, healthcare providers may play an important role in the process of careful product choice and proper usage.

Related collections

Most cited references 10

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Expert consensus document. The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics consensus statement on the scope and appropriate use of the term probiotic.

Colin Hill, Francisco Guarner, Gregor Reid … (2014)

An expert panel was convened in October 2013 by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) to discuss the field of probiotics. It is now 13 years since the definition of probiotics and 12 years after guidelines were published for regulators, scientists and industry by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the WHO (FAO/WHO). The FAO/WHO definition of a probiotic--"live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host"--was reinforced as relevant and sufficiently accommodating for current and anticipated applications. However, inconsistencies between the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation Report and the FAO/WHO Guidelines were clarified to take into account advances in science and applications. A more precise use of the term 'probiotic' will be useful to guide clinicians and consumers in differentiating the diverse products on the market. This document represents the conclusions of the ISAPP consensus meeting on the appropriate use and scope of the term probiotic.

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A review of probiotic supplementation in healthy adults: helpful or hype?

Dragana Stanley, Susan Williams, Corneel Vandelanotte … (2018)

Probiotic supplements have a positive impact on several health outcomes. However, the majority of published studies have focused on populations with specific health pathologies. Therefore, this study reviewed the current literature on the health effects of probiotic consumption in "healthy adults." The findings from this review may help guide consumers, researchers, and manufacturers regarding probiotic supplementation. Relevant literature published between 1990 and August 2017 was reviewed. Studies were included if they were experimental trials, included healthy adults, used live bacteria, and had accessible full-text articles published in English. Included studies were classified according to common foci that emerged. Forty-five studies were included in this review. Five foci emerged: gut microbiota changes (n = 15); immune system response (n = 16); lipid profile and cardiovascular disease risk (n = 14); gastrointestinal discomfort (n = 11); and female reproductive health (n = 4). Results suggest that probiotic supplementation in healthy adults can lead to transient improvement in gut microbiota concentration of supplement-specific bacteria. Evidence also supports the role of probiotics in improving immune system responses, stool consistency, bowel movement, and vaginal lactobacilli concentration. There is insufficient evidence to support the role of probiotics to improve blood lipid profile. Probiotic consumption can improve in the immune, gastrointestinal, and female reproductive health systems in healthy adults. However, this review failed to support the ability of probiotics to cause persistent changes in gut microbiota, or improve lipid profile in healthy adults. The feasibility of probiotics consumption to provide benefits in healthy adults requires further investigation.

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The Unregulated Probiotic Market

Claudio De Simone (2018)

This narrative review provides an overview of the current regulation of probiotics, with a focus on those used for the dietary management of medical conditions (Medical Foods).

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Author and article information

Contributors

L. Havelda

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): 2066

Title: Developments in Health Sciences

Abbreviated Title: DHS

Publisher: Akadémiai Kiadó (Budapest )

ISSN (Print): 2630-9378

ISSN (Electronic): 2630-936X

Publication date (Print): 19 April 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 19 November 2020

Volume: 3

Issue: 3

Pages: 53-57

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Dietetics and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University , Budapest, Hungary

[2 ] Vitaminkosár Ltd. , Budapest, Hungary

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding author. Department of Dietetics and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University , Vas utca 17, Budapest H-1088, Hungary. E-mail: haveldaluca97@ 123456gmail.com

Article

DOI: 10.1556/2066.2020.00010

SO-VID: 430d3aa8-72be-4855-8d6a-d0b8876f688b

License:

Open Access. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated. (SID_1)