Abstract
- Background
Probiotics have been associated with the treatment of depression and anxiety; however, results reported in the literature remain inconsistent, and no prior meta-analysis specifically evaluated probiotics administered to participants with varying baseline emotional states. This meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of probiotics on anxious or depressive symptomatology among participants experiencing stress conditions or diagnosed with a depressive or anxiety disorder.
- Methods
A comprehensive literature search of Medline, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library through December 2019 was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials evaluating probiotic interventions. Primary outcomes focused on depression and anxiety scores. Inclusion criteria required randomized controlled trials involving adult participants aged 16 years or older with a mood or emotional disorder diagnosis or under stress situations. Study quality was evaluated using the modified Jadad assessment scale, identifying seven high-quality studies and three low-quality studies, with all trials demonstrating low to moderate risk of bias across a total cohort of 685 participants.
- Results
The meta-analysis demonstrated that probiotics significantly reduced depression scores for patients with anxiety and depression, as well as for healthy participants undergoing stress conditions. However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the probiotic and placebo groups regarding the reduction of overall patient anxiety scores across clinical or stressed cohorts. Subgroup analyses further revealed that probiotics exerted significant effects on depressive symptoms specifically within patients diagnosed with depression, while showing no significant changes in anxiety among patients and no improvement in performance among participants under stress.
- Conclusions
Probiotics can alleviate depressive symptoms in patients with a depression diagnosis or elevated depression scores, as well as in those with an anxiety disorder diagnosis, suggesting their potential utility as adjunct therapies for mood or emotional disorders. Consequently, integrating probiotics more extensively into the treatment regimens of patients with depression warrants further exploration, though additional high-quality clinical studies remain essential to conclusively establish their therapeutic efficacy.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7257376/