Probiotics Linked to Reduced Schizophrenia Symptoms

TOPLINE:

Probiotics added to traditional antipsychotic treatment were linked to a significant reduction in schizophrenia symptoms in a new meta-analysis.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of five double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics as an adjuvant treatment in patients with schizophrenia.
• The pooled number of included participants was 281.
• A systematic search was performed using PubMed (Medline), Web of Science, and American Psychological Association PsycInfo databases up to June 2024.
• Changes in psychotic symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score before and after the daily probiotic intervention in patients.

TAKEAWAY:

• The analysis revealed significant heterogeneity among studies (I², 84.7%; P
• Compared with the use of placebo, use of adjunct probiotics was associated with a significant reduction in the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia, as measured on the PANSS (total pooled standardized mean difference, −0.680; P = .035).

IN PRACTICE:

“This is the first meta-analysis to report positive outcomes regarding the effects of probiotic supplementation on clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia,” the investigators wrote.

“However, to achieve more robust conclusions, further research is needed,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Verónica Romero-Ferreiro, PhD, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. It was published online on January 24 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

LIMITATIONS:

The small sample sizes may have affected the generalizability and statistical power of the findings. Additionally, although most studies used Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus genera, considerable heterogeneity existed among probiotic formulations across studies. Some studies combined probiotics with other micronutrients, making it difficult to isolate the specific impact of probiotics alone. The varying duration of treatments was also a limiting factor.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported in part by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), European Regional Development Fund, Madrid Regional Government, and Structural Funds of the European Union. One author reported being a consultant and speaker and receiving grants from various public health institutions, biomedical research networks, regional government programs, and pharmaceutical companies, which are fully listed in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.