Gut microbiota alterations associated with anxiety and depression in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review of prospective cohorts and randomized trials
A systematic review of 10 studies (n=1,040) suggests an association between gut dysbiosis and anxiety/depression symptoms in IBD patients, without quantitative data synthesis.
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What the study showed
Prospective cohorts consistently showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with reduced gut microbial diversity. Four RCTs assessed microbiota-targeted interventions, but the abstract does not specify the clinical outcomes achieved. The synthesis was descriptive, not meta-analytic.
How it was done
PRISMA-compliant systematic review searching six databases up to October 2025, including six prospective cohorts and four RCTs; quality assessed with the CASP checklist.
Risk of bias
The descriptive synthesis precludes pooled effect estimates. The abstract is truncated and does not report RCT outcomes or intervention details, limiting any causal inference.
What this study does NOT prove
It cannot be concluded that microbiota-targeted interventions reduce psychiatric symptoms in IBD patients.
In clinical practice
The data do not support specific microbiota-based therapeutic recommendations for managing anxiety/depression in IBD. Evidence remains insufficient to change clinical practice.
Limitations
The descriptive synthesis precludes pooled effect estimates. The abstract is truncated and does not report RCT outcomes or intervention details, limiting any causal inference.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-06-26 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.