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A team of scientists from the Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology and Stress at UCLA and the University of Oxford explored the effect of depression on the gut.
Nature Communications notes that although depression is considered a mental illness, it also affects other parts of the body.
In two studies, researchers were able to identify 13 groups of bacteria in the gut associated with depression risk in adults.
Read also: 7 physical symptoms of depression
A total of 1,054 volunteers underwent a depression test and stool analysis to determine the types of bacteria in their gut.
The researchers found that, in most cases, the number of gut microbes in people with depression was low, but some groups of bacteria such as Sellimonas and Eggerthella were present in large numbers.
In this way, scientists have demonstrated a relationship between depression and intestinal changes.
However, the researchers point out, it is currently too early to talk about a direct relationship between depression and changes in the gut microbiome. It’s also difficult to determine the causal relationship, because depression sometimes causes nutritional problems and diet is a major factor in the formation of gut bacteria.
However, if experiments show that the imbalance of bacteria in the intestines actually leads to the onset of depression, then it will become the basis for new methods of treating mental disorders.
