Relationships among diet, the gastrointestinal microbiota, and mood
type: CreativeWork
description: Nearly 5% of the global population are burdened with depression and nearly 7% have an anxiety disorder. Adequate nutrient intake is paramount to human health, helping maintain homeostasis of physiological systems, and maintaining or modulating the gastrointestinal microbiota. Cross-sectional and preclinical studies have demonstrated improvements to mental health following dietary interventions, but there is a dearth of evidence from clinical intervention trials to support dietary interventions strategies to treat the symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress. In addition to diet, the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota has also been associated with mood disorders. However, additional studies are needed to confirm if diet and/or the GI microbiota relate to changes in mood among adults. The objective of this research was to investigate links among diet, GI microbiota, and the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. The review of literature revealed that the relationships between mood and GI microbiota is under investigated in populations without physician diagnosed mood disorders, diet is rarely measured or controlled for in research trials assessing connections between the GI microbiota and mood, and dietary and microbial connections to mood are typically studied independently, rather than together. Accordingly, a cross-sectional study in adults representative of the general public was undertaken to test the hypotheses that GI microbiota and diet are associated with the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress in adults without physician diagnosed mood disorders. Diet history questionnaires were utilized to assess habitual diet and fecal samples were analyzed to characterize the GI microbiota of participants. Mood was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), which consists of three scales that measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress experienced within the past week. These…
abstract: Nearly 5% of the global population are burdened with depression and nearly 7% have an anxiety disorder. Adequate nutrient intake is paramount to human health, helping maintain homeostasis of physiological systems, and maintaining or modulating the gastrointestinal microbiota. Cross-sectional and preclinical studies have demonstrated improvements to mental health following dietary interventions, but there is a dearth of evidence from clinical intervention trials to support dietary interventions strategies to treat the symptoms of depression, anxiety, or stress. In addition to diet, the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota has also been associated with mood disorders. However, additional studies are needed to confirm if diet and/or the GI microbiota relate to changes in mood among adults. The objective of this research was to investigate links among diet, GI microbiota, and the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. The review of literature revealed that the relationships between mood and GI microbiota is under investigated in populations without physician diagnosed mood disorders, diet is rarely measured or controlled for in research trials assessing connections between the GI microbiota and mood, and dietary and microbial connections to mood are typically studied independently, rather than together. Accordingly, a cross-sectional study in adults representative of the general public was undertaken to test the hypotheses that GI microbiota and diet are associated with the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress in adults without physician diagnosed mood disorders. Diet history questionnaires were utilized to assess habitual diet and fecal samples were analyzed to characterize the GI microbiota of participants. Mood was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS), which consists of three scales that measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress experienced within the past week. These…
author: Taylor, Andrew Michael
language: en
keywords: Gut Microbiome, Mental Health, Gut-Brain Axis
date published: 2019-08-23T20:44:22Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:44Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105123