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Myeloma, Gut Health, Depression/Anxiety
A diagnosis of multiple myeloma can cause anxiety and depression. Can your gut health decrease your feelings of depression and anxiety? Yes, according to the study below.
A growing number of studies cite the importance of gut health, a diverse microbiome as central to managing MM. At the same time, a diagnosis of an incurable blood cancer can bring on negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. So what is a depressed MM patient to do???
Conventional oncology’s focus is on your cancer. Not your emotions. If you’re like me, you don’t want to add even more chemicals in the form of SSRI’s, etc, to your daily therapy plan. The solution? Enhancing your gut health.
- Diet as Mind-Body Therapy
- Mind-Body Therapy and Multiple Myeloma
- Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis, Exercise as Mind-Body Therapy
- Multiple Myeloma-10 Mind-Body Cancer Therapies Better than Chemo-
How to Fix Your Brain-Gut Connection: Anxiety and the Brain-Gut Microbiome Axis
Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com to learn more about managing your MM.
Thank you,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Probiotics, Prebiotics Tied to Decreased Depression, Anxiety
TOPLINE:
The use of probiotics and prebiotics, alone or combined (synbiotics), was associated with a significantly greater decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with depression compared to nonuse, a new meta-analysis showed.
METHODOLOGY:
- Researchers included 19 studies involving more than 1400 adults with mild-to-moderate depression or major depressive disorder, of whom 523 acted as the control group.
- In addition to assessing the effect of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on depression scores, the investigators also assed their effect on anxiety in seven of the included studies (n = 481).
- Risk for bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool.
TAKEAWAY:
- Compared with control individuals, participants receiving probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics had a significantly greater decrease in depression scores (standardized mean difference [SMD], -1.8; 95% CI, -2.4 to -1.1) and anxiety scores (SMD, -1.6; 95% CI, -2.8 to -0.4).
- Subgroup analyses indicated significant between-group differences for depression scores on the basis of nationality, intervention duration, disease severity, and BMI and for anxiety scores on the basis of nationality, age, assessment tool, and number of strains.
- However, six of the 19 studies showed some concerns for risk for bias.
IN PRACTICE:
Although the current analysis suggested a promising role for these substances, future studies “should focus on comparing probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics to standard treatments, identifying effective strains, and incorporating objective measures better to understand their impact on depression and anxiety symptoms,” the investigators wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Reza Moshfeghinia, MD, MPH, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. It was published online on May 24 in Journal of Psychiatric Research.
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