O'Hare Michaela A, Swart Patricia C, Malan-Müller Stefanie, van den Heuvel Leigh L, Bröcker Erine, Seedat Soraya, Hemmings Sian M J
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
South African Medical Research Council / Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research Unit, Cape Town, South Africa.
Neuroimmunomodulation. 2025;32(1):1-15. doi: 10.1159/000542696. Epub 2024 Nov 19.
Common mental disorders, such as anxiety disorders, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), present a substantial health and economic burden. The gut microbiome has been associated with these psychiatric disorders via the microbiome-gut-brain axis. However, previous studies have focused on the associations between the gut microbiome and common mental disorders in European, North American, and Asian populations. As part of the saNeuroGut Initiative, we assessed associations between gut microbial composition and self-reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) among South African adults.
Participants completed validated, online self-report questionnaires to evaluate symptoms of state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Eighty-six stool-derived microbial DNA samples underwent sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to characterise gut bacterial taxa in the sample.
No significant associations were observed between symptom severity scores and alpha (Shannon and Simpson indices) and beta (Aitchison distances) diversity metrics. Linear regression models revealed that the abundances of Catenibacterium, Collinsella, and Holdemanella were significantly positively associated with the severity of PTS symptoms.
Catenibacterium, Collinsella, and Holdemanella have each previously been associated with various psychiatric disorders, with Catenibacterium having been positively associated with symptoms of PTSD in another South African cohort. This study sheds light on the relationship between the human gut microbiome and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTS in a South African adult sample.
常见精神障碍，如焦虑症、抑郁症和创伤后应激障碍（PTSD），带来了巨大的健康和经济负担。肠道微生物群已通过微生物-肠道-脑轴与这些精神疾病相关联。然而，先前的研究主要集中在欧洲、北美和亚洲人群中肠道微生物群与常见精神障碍之间的关联。作为saNeuroGut计划的一部分，我们评估了南非成年人肠道微生物组成与自我报告的焦虑、抑郁和创伤后应激（PTS）症状之间的关联。
参与者完成经过验证的在线自我报告问卷，以评估状态焦虑、特质焦虑、抑郁和PTSD的症状。对86份粪便来源的微生物DNA样本进行16S rRNA基因V4区域测序，以表征样本中的肠道细菌分类群。
在症状严重程度评分与α（香农和辛普森指数）和β（艾奇逊距离）多样性指标之间未观察到显著关联。线性回归模型显示，链状杆菌属、柯林斯菌属和霍尔德曼菌属的丰度与PTS症状的严重程度显著正相关。
链状杆菌属、柯林斯菌属和霍尔德曼菌属此前均与各种精神疾病有关，在另一个南非队列中，链状杆菌属与PTSD症状呈正相关。本研究揭示了南非成年人样本中人类肠道微生物群与焦虑、抑郁和PTS症状之间的关系。
