Gut feelings: Dysbiosis of gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids associated with prenatal depression, pregnancy-related anxiety, and prenatal combined depression and anxiety.

OBJECTIVESThe role of the gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in psychiatric disorders in pregnant women has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between the gut microbiota and its metabolite SCFAs and prenatal depression, pregnancy-related anxiety, and prenatal combined depression and anxiety.

METHODSIn total 200 pregnant women in the third trimester were recruited for this study. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire Revised-2 were used to evaluate pregnant women's anxiety and depression, and stool samples were collected for gut microbiome and SCFAs.

RESULTSThis study found that reduced abundance of Allobaculum and Cetobacterium were associated with pregnancy-related anxiety in women. Furthermore, the enrichment of Anaerofustis, Gemella, and Staphylococcus and the reduction of Tyzzerella and unclassified_f_UCG-011 were associated with prenatal depression. This study was the first to indicate that women with comorbid prenatal anxiety and depression share similarities in gut microbiota and SCFAs with women with prenatal depression (Anaerofustis, Gemella, Staphylococcus, Tyzzerella, and isohexanoic acid). This study also found that certain gut microbial profiles were associated with prenatal comorbid anxiety and depression. While receiver operating characteristic analysis suggests a limited ability of the gut microbiota alone to predict prenatal psychological distress problems, the integration of phenotypic variables into the model significantly improved the model's predictive ability.

CONCLUSIONOur findings suggested that dysbiosis of gut microbiota and SCFAs are associated with prenatal psychiatric disorders. Alterations of the gut microbiota may have the potential as biomarkers for distinguishing prenatal psychiatric disorders.