Winder Chantelle, Lodhia Ami, Basso Melissa, Cohen Kadosh Kathrin
Social Brain and Development Lab, School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
School of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Front Neurosci. 2025 Feb 24;19:1540180. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1540180. eCollection 2025.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health disorder that can occur following exposure to a traumatic event, and is characterized by symptoms including intrusive memories, dissociation, and nightmares. PTSD poses significant suffering on the individual and can reduce quality of life substantially, however, its mechanisms are not fully understood. It has also been associated with gut abnormalities, such as with irritable bowel syndrome, indicating possible involvement of the gut microbiome and gut-brain axis. Whereas previous research has implicated the gut microbiome and microbiome gut-brain axis in various mental health disorders, the relationship between gut microbiome function and PTSD is unclear. Specifically, little is known about whether specific gut microbiome compositions can increase the risk of developing PTSD, or, vice versa, act as a protective factor for the individual. This systematic review aims to synthesize the literature looking at gut microbiome differences between individuals with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls (TEC) while exploring potential risk and resilience factors for development of the disorder. Three studies met the inclusion criteria, and results showed that all studies found differences in gut microbial taxa between PTSD and TEC groups yet varied in their taxonomic level and type. One study found a significant difference in diversity between groups, reporting lower diversity in PTSD, and two studies found certain taxa to be correlated with PTSD symptom severity: , , and genera, and , and phyla. This review has important implications for potential novel treatments for PTSD which target the gut microbiome, for example psychobiotic dietary interventions such as prebiotics and probiotics. It also informs our understanding of potential risk and resilience factors for the disorder, such as certain gut microbiome compositions being potentially protective or increasing susceptibility. More research is needed, as currently sample sizes are small and confounding variables (e.g., diet) are not always controlled for. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42024530033.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）是一种常见的心理健康障碍，可在接触创伤性事件后发生，其特征症状包括侵入性记忆、解离和噩梦。PTSD给个体带来巨大痛苦，并能显著降低生活质量，然而，其发病机制尚未完全明确。它还与肠道异常有关，如肠易激综合征，这表明肠道微生物群和肠-脑轴可能参与其中。尽管先前的研究已表明肠道微生物群和微生物群肠-脑轴与多种心理健康障碍有关，但肠道微生物群功能与PTSD之间的关系尚不清楚。具体而言，对于特定的肠道微生物群组成是否会增加患PTSD的风险，或者反之，是否对个体起到保护作用，人们知之甚少。本系统综述旨在综合分析有关PTSD患者与创伤暴露对照者（TEC）之间肠道微生物群差异的文献，同时探索该疾病发展的潜在风险和恢复力因素。三项研究符合纳入标准，结果显示所有研究均发现PTSD组和TEC组之间肠道微生物分类群存在差异，但分类水平和类型各不相同。一项研究发现两组之间的多样性存在显著差异，报告称PTSD组的多样性较低，两项研究发现某些分类群与PTSD症状严重程度相关：属、属和属，以及门、门和门。本综述对于以肠道微生物群为靶点的PTSD潜在新疗法具有重要意义，例如益生元和益生菌等精神益生菌饮食干预。它还为我们理解该疾病的潜在风险和恢复力因素提供了信息，比如某些肠道微生物群组成可能具有保护作用或增加易感性。由于目前样本量较小且混杂变量（如饮食）并不总是得到控制，因此需要更多的研究。该方案已在PROSPERO注册，注册号：CRD42024530033。
