The Role of Probiotics in Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Keywords:
Probiotics, irritable bowel syndrome, Depression, quality of life, BDI-II, SF-36Abstract
Background: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder frequently accompanied by psychological disturbances such as depression and reduced quality of life. Probiotic intervention has been studied as a potential adjunct therapy to address psychological symptoms and improve the quality of life in IBS patients. This study aims to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation on depressive symptoms and quality of life in IBS patients at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and SF-36 instruments. Methods: This study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial with a pre-post intervention design. A total of 70 participants were randomly assigned into two groups: the intervention group (n=35), which received probiotics, and the control group (n=35), which received a placebo. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the BDI-II, while quality of life was measured using the SF-36 questionnaire, both before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney test and independent t-test, with a significance level of p<0.05. Results: After the intervention, the probiotic group showed a significant reduction in BDI-II scores compared to the placebo group (p<0.0001). In addition, the probiotic group demonstrated significant improvements in almost all domains of the SF-36 compared to the placebo group, including physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional well-being, and mental health (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation significantly reduces depressive symptoms and improves quality of life in IBS patients. These findings support the potential of probiotics as an adjunct therapy in the comprehensive management of IBS.References
Lacy BE, Mearin F, Chang L, et al. Bowel disorders. Gastroenterology. 2016 May 1;150(6):1393-407.e5.
Kopczynska M, Mokros L, Pietras T, Malecka-Panas E. Quality of life and depression in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Prz Gastroenterol. 2018;13(2):102–8.
Kayar Y, Agin M, Unver N, Dertli R, Kirpinar I. The relation between life quality and subtype of the disease in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Ann Med Res. 2019;(0):1.
Widhani A, Djauzi S, Suyatna FD, Dewi BE. Changes in gut microbiota and systemic inflammation after synbiotic supplementation in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Cells. 2022 Nov 1;11(21).
Sarkawi M, Raja Ali RA, Abdul Wahab N, Abdul Rathi ND, Mokhtar NM. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial on Lactobacillus-containing cultured milk drink as adjuvant therapy for depression in irritable bowel syndrome. Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 1;14(1).
Simpson CA, Mu A, Haslam N, Schwartz OS, Simmons JG. Feeling down? A systematic review of the gut microbiota in anxiety/depression and irritable bowel syndrome. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2020; 266:429–46.
Kim YS, Kim N. Sex-gender differences in irritable bowel syndrome. Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility. 2018;24:544–58.
Mansouri A, Rarani MA, Fallahi M, Alvandi I. Irritable bowel syndrome is concentrated in people with higher education in Iran: an inequality analysis. Epidemiol Health. 2017;39:e2017005
Lyra A, Hillilä M, Huttunen T, et al. Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity improves equally with probiotics and a placebo. World J Gastroenterol. 2016 Dec 28;22(48):10631–42.
Gao J, Zhao L, Cheng Y, et al. Probiotics for the treatment of depression and its comorbidities: A systematic review. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023;13.
Akkasheh G, Kashani-Poor Z, Tajabadi-Ebrahimi M, et al. Clinical and metabolic response to probiotic administration in patients with major depressive disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Nutrition. 2016;32(3):315–20.
Huang R, Wang K, Hu J. Effect of probiotics on depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. MDPI AG. 2016;18.
Theodora RH, Sarjana W, Fitrikasari A, Ss D, Sari P. Differences of BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory-II) Score before and after Probiotics Administration; 2019.
Tetali B, Suresh S. Management of irritable bowel syndrome: a narrative review. Translational Gastroenterology and Hepatology. AME Publishing Company. 2024;9.
Pinto-Sanchez MI, Hall GB, Ghajar K, et al. Probiotic bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 reduces depression scores and alters brain activity: A pilot study in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 2017 Aug 1;153(2):448-459.e8.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Diana Erlita, Hamzah Shatri, Achmad Fauzi, Murdani Abdullah, Rudi Putranto, Eka Ginanjar, Irsan Hasan, Andhika Rachman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright
The authors who publish in this journal agree to the following requirements:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. (See The Effect of Open Access)
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
