Summary: Researchers examined connections between the Mediterranean diet, the gut microbiome, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a cohort of 191 women, greater adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with fewer PTSD symptoms. The study also highlighted the bacterium Eubacterium eligens as consistently linked to diet components and inversely related to PTSD symptoms.
This research points to a complex relationship among dietary patterns, gut microbial composition, and mental health, suggesting that diet-based strategies could play a role in preventing or easing PTSD symptoms.
Key Facts:
- Higher adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern correlated with reduced PTSD symptom levels.
- The gut microbe Eubacterium eligens emerged as a top candidate species potentially protective against PTSD, showing a stable inverse relationship with symptom severity.
- The findings support a link between diet, the gut microbiome, and mental health and encourage further research into dietary or microbiome-targeted approaches for PTSD prevention and treatment.
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
The human gut microbiome exerts wide-ranging effects on physical and mental health, and growing evidence implicates it in emotional regulation. However, the specific associations between the gut microbiome and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been less studied. PTSD is a fear-based psychiatric condition that can develop after exposure to traumatic events involving severe injury, death, or violence, and it can have lasting physical and psychological consequences.
A team of investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital—part of the Mass General Brigham system—and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed how PTSD symptoms relate to diet and gut microbiome characteristics. Their results, published in Nature Mental Health, show that participants who more closely followed a Mediterranean diet experienced fewer PTSD symptoms.
“There is a very intriguing relationship between the human gut microbiome and the brain,” said co-corresponding author Yang-Yu Liu, PhD, of the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “In this study, we explored how factors such as diet relate to PTSD symptoms. While further work is necessary, these findings bring us closer to informed dietary recommendations that could help prevent or reduce PTSD symptoms.”
PTSD carries burdens that extend beyond the affected individual, impacting families, healthcare systems, and society. People with PTSD also face higher risks of chronic conditions such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and premature mortality. Better understanding of dietary and microbiome contributions to PTSD may help improve patient care and long-term outcomes.
“Studying the gut–brain axis offers valuable insight into how mental and physical health intersect,” said co-corresponding author Karestan Koenen, PhD, of the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our results indicate that the relationship between PTSD and the gut microbiome is a promising direction for research and may guide interventions that mitigate downstream health effects of PTSD.”
The research used data from 191 participants enrolled in substudies of the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS-II), including the Mind-Body Study and a PTSD substudy. Participants were categorized into three groups: probable PTSD, trauma-exposed without PTSD, and no trauma exposure.
Each participant provided two sets of four stool samples—one at baseline and another six months later—allowing the team to assess microbial DNA profiles and the temporal stability of the gut microbiome over a six-month period. Researchers analyzed overall microbiome structure in relation to host factors such as PTSD symptoms, age, body mass index (BMI), and dietary habits, identifying several host variables (including BMI, depression, and antidepressant use) that correlated with microbiome composition.
When dietary data were examined alongside PTSD symptoms, participants with greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet reported fewer PTSD symptoms. The analysis found that higher intake of red and processed meats was associated with increased PTSD symptoms, while higher consumption of plant-based foods was associated with fewer symptoms.
To identify microbial signatures potentially protective against PTSD, the researchers applied a generalized microbe–phenotype triangulation (GMPT) approach. This method highlighted Eubacterium eligens as the top putative protective species. The inverse association between E. eligens abundance and PTSD symptoms remained consistent across all four sampling time points, indicating a stable relationship over time.
Further analysis showed that E. eligens correlated positively with components typical of a Mediterranean diet—such as vegetables, fruits, and fish—and negatively with red and processed meats, which are limited in that eating pattern.
The authors acknowledge study limitations, including the use of a brief PTSD screening scale rather than formal clinical diagnoses. Despite these constraints, the findings offer valuable directions for future research into other mental health conditions and dietary or microbiome-based interventions designed to prevent or alleviate symptoms.
“These results suggest the Mediterranean diet could help reduce PTSD symptoms for some people,” said Liu. “We look forward to further studies. Future work will include testing whether targeted probiotics or other microbiome interventions can play a role in preventing PTSD.”
Disclosures: The authors report no competing interests.
Funding: This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01AI141529, R01HD093761, RF1AG067744, UH3OD023268, U19AI095219, U01HL089856, R01MH101269), the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Dean’s Fund for Scientific Advancement Incubation Award, the Biology of Trauma Initiative of the Broad Institute, and the Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program (Focused Program Award) under Award No. w81XWH-22-S-TBIPH2, endorsed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
About this PTSD, diet, and microbiome research news
Author: Angela Christoforos
Source: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Contact: Angela Christoforos – Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Association of probable post-traumatic stress disorder with dietary pattern and gut microbiome in a cohort of women” by Ke, S. et al. Nature Mental Health
Abstract
Association of probable post-traumatic stress disorder with dietary pattern and gut microbiome in a cohort of women
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after exposure to traumatic events and has substantial effects on mental and physical health. The microbiota–gut–brain axis has been proposed as an influential factor in psychiatric conditions.
In this study, researchers analyzed trauma exposure, PTSD symptom data, gut microbiome profiles, and dietary information from 191 women enrolled in a substudy of an ongoing longitudinal cohort. The analysis showed that higher PTSD symptom levels were associated with lower adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern. This relationship was linked to specific microbial species, notably Eubacterium eligens, identified as a putative protective species against PTSD.
Additionally, microbial pathways involved in the biosynthesis of pantothenate and coenzyme A emerged as potentially protective and were largely contributed by species such as Akkermansia muciniphila. These findings could inform future dietary and microbiome-centered interventions aimed at preventing or reducing PTSD symptoms.