Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37299527›Full record

SynthesisNutrients2023

The Gut Microbiome in Early Life Stress: A Systematic Review.

Ana Agusti, Femke Lamers, Maria Tamayo, Carlos Benito-Amat, Gara V Molina-Mendoza, Brenda W J H Penninx, Yolanda Sanz

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrients, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.8field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Efficacy ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. The Microbiome: A Foundation for Integrative Medicine.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2024
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ana AgustiMicrobiome, Nutrition & Health Research Unit, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Excellence Center Severo Ochoa-Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.
Femke LamersAmsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Mental Health Program, Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0003-4344-5766
Maria TamayoMicrobiome, Nutrition & Health Research Unit, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Excellence Center Severo Ochoa-Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.
Carlos Benito-AmatInstitute for the Management and Innovation of Knowledge (INGENIO-CSIC-UPV), Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Gara V Molina-MendozaMicrobiome, Nutrition & Health Research Unit, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Excellence Center Severo Ochoa-Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.
Brenda W J H PenninxAmsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health, Mental Health Program, Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0001-7779-9672
Yolanda SanzMicrobiome, Nutrition & Health Research Unit, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Excellence Center Severo Ochoa-Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1615-1976
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas · ESAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLInstituto de Gestión de la Innovación y del Conocimiento · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Exposure to early life stress (ELS), prenatal or postnatal during childhood and adolescence, can significantly impact mental and physical health. The role of the intestinal microbiome in human health, and particularly mental health, is becoming increasingly evident. This systematic review aims to summarize the clinical data evaluating the effect of ELS on the human intestinal microbiome. The systematic review (CRD42022351092) was performed following PRISMA guidelines, with ELS considered as exposure to psychological stressors prenatally and during early life (childhood and adolescence). Thirteen articles met all inclusion criteria, and all studies reviewed found a link between ELS and the gut microbiome in both prenatal and postnatal periods. However, we failed to find consensus microbiome signatures associated with pre- or postnatal stress, or both. The inconsistency of results is likely attributed to various factors such as different experimental designs, ages examined, questionnaires, timing of sample collection and analysis methods, small population sizes, and the type of stressors. Additional studies using similar stressors and validated stress measures, as well as higher-resolution microbiome analytical approaches, are needed to draw definitive conclusions about the links between stress and the human gut microbiome.

Indexed as

Adverse Childhood ExperiencesGastrointestinal MicrobiomeMicrobiotaAdolescentFemaleHumansMental HealthPregnancyStress, Psychologicalearly life stressgut-brain axisgut microbiomepostnatal stressprenatal stresssystematic review

Identifiers

PMID37299527
PMCPMC10255201
OpenAlexW4378905334

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.