Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38455088›Full record

ReviewMicrobiome research reports2024

Methodological recommendations for human microbiota-gut-brain axis research.

Yangwenshan Ou, Clara Belzer, Hauke Smidt, Carolina de Weerth

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Microbiome research reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 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.

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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. The Microbiota in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. 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

4 authors.

Yangwenshan OuLaboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 8033, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Clara BelzerLaboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 8033, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Hauke SmidtLaboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 8033, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Carolina de WeerthRadboud university medical center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Observational studies have determined numerous correlations between sequence-based gut microbiota data and human mental traits. However, these associations are often inconsistent across studies. This inconsistency is one of the reasons that mechanistic validation studies of the observed correlations are lagging, making it difficult to establish causal associations. The absence of consistent study findings may partially be due to the lack of clear guidelines for identifying confounders of relations between complex microbial communities and mental conditions. Gut microbial complexity also impedes deciphering microbiota-host relations by using a single analytical approach. The aim of the current review is to help solve these problems by providing methodological recommendations for future human microbiota-gut-brain axis research on the selection of confounders, the use of integrative biostatistical methods, and the steps needed to translate correlative findings into causal conclusions.

Indexed as

causationconfounderscorrelationgut microbiotamental development and healthMicrobiota-gut-brain axisstatistical analyses

Identifiers

PMID38455088
PMCPMC10917620

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.