October 28, 2019 (Medical News Today)
Previous research has been conducted to understand the relationship between prebiotics, probiotics and lung health, with the research concluding that the two have positive effects of overall lung function. Consumption of fiber (a prebiotic) and yogurt (a probiotic) were found to be associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders among other things.
This analysis published in JAMA Oncology aimed to find if consuming fiber and yogurt were related to a lower risk of lung cancer – which is a gap in the research regarding the relationship between prebiotics, probiotics, and lung health.
This researched was done through a pooled analysis of around 1.5 million people from all over the world, in which the researchers took data from each participant’s dietary information to calculate the amount of fiber and yogurt they consumed. They also included additional factors for developing lung cancer like age, obesity, and smoking status.
The research indicated that both fiber and yogurt consumption were inversely associated with lung risk. People consuming the most fiber had a 17% reduced risk compared to those that consumed the least, and people consuming the most yogurt had a 19% reduced risk compared to those that did not eat yogurt.
Although this study makes important progress in understanding the relationship between prebiotic and probiotic consumption and lung cancer, there is a possibility that the observed relationship between them is due to factors not included in this study, so more work in needed to fill in the details.