Date of Award

2027

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physician Assistant Studies

Committee Chair

Ashley Kernicky

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common psychiatric disorder that remains difficult to treat for many patients despite available therapies. The purpose of this clinical review was to evaluate the effectiveness of adjunctive probiotic supplementation for adults with major depressive disorder. PubMed was searched using key terms including major depressive disorder, probiotics, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and gut-brain axis. Search filters and eligibility criteria narrowed the results to six relevant articles for review, including one randomized clinical trial, four systematic reviews, and one clinical practice guideline. Overall, the included studies generally reported reductions in depressive symptom severity and favorable safety profiles with adjunctive probiotic supplementation. Although probiotic strains, treatment duration, and study methodologies varied, several studies suggested greater benefit when probiotics were combined with standard antidepressant therapy. Neuroimaging findings also supported a potential role of the gut-brain axis in modulating depressive symptoms. Current evidence suggests that probiotics may provide benefit as an adjunctive treatment for adults with major depressive disorder; however, additional high-quality evidence is needed before routine incorporation into clinical practice. Future research should further investigate microbiome-targeted therapies and clarify the role of the gut-brain axis in depression management.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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