Comment by monkburger

I'll chime in:

(β = −0.482; 95% CI, −0.813, −0.141; p = 0.014): The "β" represents the change in the factor score due to the prebiotic. A negative number here (-0.482) likely means that the prebiotic reduced some kind of negative score associated with poorer cognition, thus improving cognitive function. The "95% CI" stands for the 95% confidence interval, which is a range of values (-0.813 to -0.141) that likely contains the true effect size. The smaller this range, the more precise the estimate. The "p-value" (p = 0.014) tells us the probability that the observed results could have occurred by chance. A p-value of 0.014 means there's a 1.4% chance the results are due to random variation, which is low, so the results are considered statistically significant.

In simpler terms, that study found the prebiotic to significantly improve mental functions compared to not taking anything, with a high level of confidence that this result is not due to chance.

HOWEVER, when you look at the size of the study, it's unimpressive. A larger RCT will be needed. Also, it was a 'remote' study, so they could not measure muscle mass. Also, analyzing stool samples has serious limitations, as there are quite a few species that cannot be cultured (or identified).