Role of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis in children

Abstract

Background: AD is a long-term, inflammatory skin condition that affects 11.9% of children in Bangladesh under five years old. Corticosteroids have their problems, so scientists are interested in exploring new ways to support the gut-skin connection.

Objective: Find out the use of probiotics on Atopic Dermatitis (AD) and the betterment of minors' lives from a Bangladeshi perspective.

Methodology: The study was designed as a 12-week randomized controlled trial with 70 participants (ranging in age from 1 to 12 years) separated into probiotic (receiving LGG 1×10⁹ CFU daily) and control groups. Standardized assessments included: SCORAD score to measure disease severity, recording flare-up frequency, and monitoring children’s life quality with CDLQI. SPSS v25 statistical analysis was done, and results were considered significant when the p-value was <0.05.

Result: A significant decrease in SCORAD value (from 32.5 ± 7.1 to 20.2 ± 6.5) was observed in the probiotic group, but the control group did not show this change (from 33.0 ± 6.9 to 32.2 ± 6.7, p<0.001). Fewer flare-ups were seen in the intervention vs. control group (1.2 ± 0.9 compared to 2.7 ± 1.2 in the control group, p=0.002).

Conclusion: Supplementing children with probiotics reduced AD symptoms and improved their quality of life, underlining its usefulness in combination therapy. The research suggests that changing the gut microbiome could play a role in treating inflammatory skin disorders, especially in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Atopic dermatitis, probiotics, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, SCORAD, CDLQI, pediatric dermatology.