ReviewJournal of internal medicine2022
Antibiotics and mental health: The good, the bad and the ugly.
Review in Journal of internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers.
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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 63 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Tanreqing injection on the gut microbiota in healthy volunteers.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Trial
- Research advances in the microbiota‑gut‑brain axis and Parkinson's disease (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- A bibliometric mapping of research on antimicrobial resistance and mental health.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Society and the Microbiome: A Biopsychosocial Window Into Comprehensive Well-Being: A Review.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Bidirectional relations between the maternal and infant gut microbiome and behavior.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- The uropygial gland of the European hoopoe as a symbiotic organ.Animal microbiome · 2026Article
- Extensive antibiotic use during early life and risk of frailty: a population-based cohort study in the UK biobank.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Article
- If you give a mouse a poopsicle: a novel fecal microbiota transplant method for exploring the role of the gut microbiome in stress-related outcomes in mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Community Pharmacists' Perspectives on Antibiotic Misuse and Antimicrobial Resistance in Cyprus: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- If you give a mouse a poopsicle: a novel fecal microbiota transplant method for exploring the role of the gut microbiome in stress-related outcomes in mice.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota-driven immunomodulation in tuberculosis: targeting dysbiosis to overcome drug resistance.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Understanding the Connection Between the Gut-Brain Axis and Major Depression: A Theoretical Perspective.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Impact of antibiotic-induced gut microbiota modulation on morphine analgesia, tolerance, withdrawal, and neurophysiological changes in mice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- A Case Report: Ertapenem-Induced Encephalopathy.Cureus · 2025Article
- Direction of global health status: a narrative review and recommendation for incorporating integrative medicine for improvement.Journal of medicine and life · 2025Review
- Natural Compounds and Their Potential in Eating-Related Aspects of Mental Health Disorders.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Yinchenhao Decoction Mitigates Cholestatic Liver Injury in Mice via Gut Microbiota Regulation and Activation of FXR-FGF15 Pathway.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The role of breastfeeding, antibiotics and antimalarial medicinal exposure in paediatric depression amongst children aged under 5: a population-based study.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Guarding minds: a narrative review on how n-acetylcyteine and ketones could shield sensitive patients from antibiotic neurotoxicity.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Antibiotics are recognised as, on occasion, producing psychiatric side effects, most notably depression and anxiety. Apart from antimicrobial activity, antibiotics have multiple off-target effects. The brain-gut-microbiota axis has multiple sites for off-target activity, which may produce either positive or negative antibiotic effects. Here we review how antibiotics impact mental health by acting through the brain-gut-microbiota axis. Microbes in the gut influence brain function by acting through the vagus nerve or by altering the production of short-chain fatty acids or the amino acid tryptophan, the building block of serotonin. Not all antimicrobial actions of antibiotics have a negative impact. The first antidepressant discovered was actually an antibiotic: isoniazid is an antibacterial drug developed for treating tuberculosis. Minocycline, which enters the brain and mediates its effects through microglia, shows antidepressant activity. Some antibiotics bring about a significant decrease in gut microbial diversity, and this is viewed as a risk factor for depression. Other risk factors induced by antibiotics include altered gut barrier function, activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, reducing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or oxytocin and alteration of vagal tone. Although most patients taking antibiotics do not suffer from an iatrogenic psychiatric disorder, some do. As clinicians, we need to keep this in mind. The development of new antibiotics is primarily focused on antibiotic resistance, but efforts should be made to reduce off-target brain-gut-microbiota effects resulting in mental health problems.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.