Depression Is Linked To Gut Bacteria

Dec, 2022 - By SMI

Multiple types of bacteria in the gut and depressed symptoms have been linked by two studies, which were both published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.

Here, we examine the association between faecal microbiome diversity and composition and depression symptoms in 1,054 Rotterdam Study cohort participants, and we validate these results in 1,539 adults from the Amsterdam HELIUS cohort. We discover relationships between depressive symptoms and thirteen microbial taxa, including the genera Eggerthella, Subdoligranulum, Coprococcus, Sellimonas, Lachnoclostridium, Hungatella, Ruminococcaceae (UCG002, UCG003 and UCG005), LachnospiraceaeUCG001, Eubacterium ventriosum and Ruminococcusgauvreauiigroup. Glutamate, butyrate, serotonin, and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), which are important neurotransmitters for depression, are known to be produced by these bacteria. According to our findings, depression may be significantly influenced by the composition of the gut microbiota.

The gut microbiome and depression symptom levels differ significantly among ethnic groups, according to the second study, "The gut microbiota and depressive symptoms across ethnic groups." Therefore, knowledge of microbiome-depression connections across ethnic groups is necessary for any intervention for depression that targets the microbiome.

We characterise the gut microbiota and its relationships to depression symptoms in 6 ethnic groups (Dutch, South Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, Ghanaian, Turkish, and Moroccan; N=3211) living in the same urban area using data from the HELIUS cohort. Taking into consideration differences in demographics, behaviour, and medical conditions, the diversity of the gut microbiota, both within and between people (a-diversity) and between populations (B-diversity), predicts the severity of depression symptoms.

No ethnic group has a different set of relationships. Furthermore, 29%–18% of the ethnic differences in depressed symptoms are explained by B-diversity. Numerous families of bacteria include the genera that are linked to depressed symptoms, most notably the families Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Christensenellaceae. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that the gut microbiota and depressed symptom levels are related, and that this association is consistent across ethnic groups.

Furthermore, the findings imply that ethnic variations in the gut flora may contribute to the corresponding variances in depression.