Bugs and Brains, the Gut and Mental Health Study: a mixed-methods study investigating microbiota composition and function in anxiety, depression and irritable bowel syndrome

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Research has highlighted relationships between the micro-organisms that inhabit our gastrointestinal tract (oral and gut microbiota) with host mood and gastrointestinal functioning. Mental health disorders and functional gastrointestinal disorders co-occur at high rates, although the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. The Bugs and Brains Study aims to investigate complex relationships between anxiety/depression and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in two ways. First, its primary component will compare the gut and oral microbiota in females with anxiety/depression and/or IBS relative to controls, and investigate underlying physiological, endocrine and immune ..