Slyepchenko, Anastasiya, Maes, Michael, Jacka, Felice N et al. · Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2017 · DOI
This review examines how changes in gut bacteria and a 'leaky gut' (where bacteria can cross the intestinal barrier) may contribute to depression and related conditions like ME/CFS. The authors found evidence that diet, gut bacteria composition, and immune system activation are interconnected, and that these connections may explain why depression often occurs alongside conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, ME/CFS, obesity, and diabetes.
ME/CFS shares several pathophysiological features with depression (immune activation, oxidative stress, HPA axis dysfunction) and frequently co-occurs with depression. This review identifies the gut-brain axis and dysbiosis as potential unifying mechanisms that could explain both ME/CFS and its psychiatric comorbidities, suggesting that microbiota-targeted interventions may have therapeutic potential for both conditions.
This systematic review does not prove causality between dysbiosis and depression or ME/CFS—it identifies correlational associations and proposed mechanisms. The review cannot establish whether dysbiosis causes these conditions, results from them, or represents a parallel consequence of shared underlying pathology. Methodological inconsistencies across included studies limit the strength of conclusions.
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