Association between probiotics and fatigue in servicemen/veterans based on cross sectional data

ZHANG Huan; MEI Zhusong; WANG Lei; FAN Chongxi; WU Yan; SHANG Lei; SHI Yongquan; HAN Zheyi

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2097-1753.2025.02.008

Abstract：Objective To explore the relationship between probiotic supplements and fatigue in servicemen/veterans and to provide data for the use of probiotics in overcoming fatigue in military personnel.Methods Servicemen/veteran who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(NHANES)from 2009-2018 were selected.Levels of fatigue were assessed via item DPQ040 from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9)based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition(DSM-Ⅳ).The usage of probiotics from dietary supplements over a 30-day period was calculated.Latent class analysis(LCA)was used to determine the patterns of co-morbidity of common chronic diseases.Multifactor Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlations between probiotics and fatigue.Results A total of 1 536 servicemen/veterans were enrolled,44.3％of whom manifested fatigue,and 7.6％habitually took probiotics.Consumption of probiotics was a protective factor against fatigue(OR=0.565,95％CI:0.561 to 0.569).The LCA categorized the subjects into four distinct patterns by the incidence of common chronic diseases:the hypertension-dominated,diabetic hypertension,multimorbidity,and relative healthy.Multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that probiotics were a protective factor against fatigue in the relative healthy group(OR=0.492,95％CI:0.488 to 0.497)and the diabetic hypertension group(OR=0.743,95％CI:0.736 to 0.751).Conclusion Consumption of probiotics may be associated with a reduced risk of fatigue in servicemen/veterans,suggesting a potential anti-fatigue effect of probiotics,but differences in the effects of probiotics on different diseases need to be studied.