Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31004628›Full record

SynthesisNeuroscience and biobehavioral reviews2019

Prebiotics and probiotics for depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials.

Richard T Liu, Rachel F L Walsh, Ana E Sheehan

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06898788 (Probiotic Administration for Adolescent Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 251 papers, 19 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
251citing papers in PubMed, 19 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06898788 early_phase1recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Probiotic Administration for Adolescent Depression

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, San FranciscoRan2025 to 2026Enrolled77ConditionsDepressionArmsVisbiome, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

251 citing papers in PubMed, 19 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  14. Nutraceuticals in Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
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  20. Frontiers in nutrition · 2026
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191 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Richard T LiuDepartment of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, East Providence, RI, United States. Electronic address: rtliupsych@gmail.com.
Rachel F L WalshDepartment of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, East Providence, RI, United States.
Ana E SheehanDepartment of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, East Providence, RI, United States.

Funding

Neurocognitive characteristics of short-term risk for suicidal behavior in adolescents R01MH115905 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI LIU, RICHARD T · 2018 to 2023
$3.2M
Life Stressors, Impulsivity, and Adolescent Suicidal BehaviorR01MH101138 · NIMH · EMMA PENDLETON BRADLEY HOSPITAL · PI LIU, RICHARD T · 2014 to 2018
$2.0M
Modulating impulsivity in suicidal adolescents with tDCS: A proof concept studyR21MH112055 · NIMH · EMMA PENDLETON BRADLEY HOSPITAL · PI LIU, RICHARD T · 2017 to 2018
$394k
NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH101138NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH115905NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH112055
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

With growing interest in the gut microbiome, prebiotics and probiotics have received considerable attention as potential treatments for depression and anxiety. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of 34 controlled clinical trials evaluating the effects of prebiotics and probiotics on depression and anxiety. Prebiotics did not differ from placebo for depression (d = -.08, p = .51) or anxiety (d = .12, p = .11). Probiotics yielded small but significant effects for depression (d = -.24, p < .01) and anxiety (d = -.10, p = .03). Sample type was a moderator for probiotics and depression, with a larger effect observed for clinical/medical samples (d = -.45, p < .001) than community ones. This effect increased to medium-to-large in a preliminary analysis restricted to psychiatric samples (d = -.73, p < .001). There is general support for antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of probiotics, but the pooled effects were reduced by the paucity of trials with clinical samples. Additional randomized clinical trials with psychiatric samples are necessary fully to evaluate their therapeutic potential.

Indexed as

Controlled Clinical Trials as TopicGastrointestinal MicrobiomePrebioticsAnxiety DisordersDepressive DisorderHumansProbioticsPrebioticsAnxietyDepressionMicrobiomePrebioticProbiotic

Identifiers

PMID31004628
PMCPMC6584030

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.