Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

First Advisor

Metzger, Jay

Keywords

Anxiety and probiotics; Depression and probiotics; Probiotics and antidepressants

Abstract

Given the impact of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, it is helpful to know the available resources and treatment options to offer patients to aid in the modulation of symptoms. The gut-brain connection has become more widely researched for its impacts on anxiety and depression. This bodes the question that if the gut microbiome can be altered, would there be a decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression as a result? One way to alter gut microbiome is to implement a probiotic. To determine if this is an effective treatment option for anxiety and depression, a literature review was conducted using primarily randomized clinical trials. PubMed was the primary database that was used for this research. Articles were sorted and chosen based upon applicability to the problem being investigated, clinical trials, and a recent time frame of five years. Most of the articles reviewed found statistically significant differences in improvements of symptoms of anxiety and depression in the intervention group participants. Therefore, the results of this literature review suggest that implementing a probiotic either as sole therapy or adjuvant therapy can improve symptoms and severity of anxiety and depression. Probiotics are easily accessible as over-the-counter supplements. This provides an alternative treatment option or adjuvant option to anti-depressants that are frequently available to patients.

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