Microbiome, Nutrition & Health Research Unit, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Excellence Center Severo Ochoa-Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.
Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Mental Health Program, Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Nutrients. 2023 May 30;15(11):2566. doi: 10.3390/nu15112566.
Exposure to early life stress (ELS), prenatal or postnatal during childhood and adolescence, can significantly impact mental and physical health. The role of the intestinal microbiome in human health, and particularly mental health, is becoming increasingly evident. This systematic review aims to summarize the clinical data evaluating the effect of ELS on the human intestinal microbiome. The systematic review (CRD42022351092) was performed following PRISMA guidelines, with ELS considered as exposure to psychological stressors prenatally and during early life (childhood and adolescence). Thirteen articles met all inclusion criteria, and all studies reviewed found a link between ELS and the gut microbiome in both prenatal and postnatal periods. However, we failed to find consensus microbiome signatures associated with pre- or postnatal stress, or both. The inconsistency of results is likely attributed to various factors such as different experimental designs, ages examined, questionnaires, timing of sample collection and analysis methods, small population sizes, and the type of stressors. Additional studies using similar stressors and validated stress measures, as well as higher-resolution microbiome analytical approaches, are needed to draw definitive conclusions about the links between stress and the human gut microbiome.
早期生活应激（ELS）暴露，包括儿童期和青少年期的产前或产后，可显著影响身心健康。肠道微生物组在人类健康，特别是心理健康中的作用正变得越来越明显。本系统综述旨在总结评估 ELS 对人类肠道微生物组影响的临床数据。该系统综述（CRD42022351092）按照 PRISMA 指南进行，ELS 被定义为产前和生命早期（儿童期和青少年期）经历的心理应激源。13 篇文章完全符合纳入标准，所有综述研究都发现 ELS 与产前和产后时期的肠道微生物组之间存在关联。然而，我们未能找到与产前或产后应激相关的一致的微生物组特征，或两者都没有。结果的不一致可能归因于各种因素，如不同的实验设计、研究的年龄、问卷、样本采集和分析方法的时间以及人群规模较小，还有应激源的类型。需要使用类似的应激源和经过验证的应激测量方法，以及更高分辨率的微生物组分析方法，开展更多研究，以确定应激与人类肠道微生物组之间的联系。
