Relationship between intestinal flora, inflammation, BDNF gene polymorphism and generalized anxiety disorder: A clinical investigation

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding factors related to generalized anxiety disorder pathogenesis is critical for elucidating the mechanism and preventing its establishment. Intestinal flora and hereditary factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphism may have a role in the development of generalized anxiety disorder. This work explored the relationship between intestinal flora, inflammatory changes and BDNF gene polymorphisms and the occurrence of generalized anxiety disorder. Methods: Forty-eight patients with generalized anxiety disorder and 57 healthy people were included in the study. As the disease group and control group, the polymorphisms of rs10767664 and rs7124442 of the BDNF gene, differences in the distribution of intestinal flora, and changes in inflammatory and immune indicators were analyzed. Results: The distribution of BDNF gene alleles, genotypes and haplotypes in the disease group were different from those in the control group. The levels of TNF-α (P = .000), interleukin-4 (P = .000), interleukin-10 (P = .043) and IgG (P = .008) in patients with generalized anxiety disorder in the disease group were different from those in the control group. The distribution of gut microbes in patients with generalized anxiety disorder in the disease group was different from that in the control group. Conclusion: The onset of generalized anxiety disorder is related to BDNF gene polymorphism, and is accompanied by changes in intestinal flora and inflammatory immune status in the body.

The Gut-Brain Axis and the Microbiome in Anxiety Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

“…Guo et al [ 107 ] concluded that GAD comorbid with functional gastrointestinal disease (FGID) may be related to an increase in relative abundance of Fusobacterium and that GAD not comorbid with FGID may be related to an increase in relative abundance of Hemophilus . In a study of 48 patients with GAD and 57 healthy controls, Cheng et al [ 108 ] concluded that the onset of GAD is related to BDNF gene polymorphism accompanied by changes in the intestinal flora and in components of the immune system.…”

Assessing causal relationships between gut microbiota and psoriasis: evidence from two sample Mendelian randomization analysis

“…Given the importance of gut flora, alterations in its composition have been associated with the pathogenesis of numerous acute and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn's disease, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, anxiety, and depression [40][41][42][43] . For instance, studies have shown that 7-11% of patients diagnosed with IBD also have psoriasis, primarily linked to gastrointestinal www.nature.com/scientificreports/ inflammation 44 . Both diseases share certain common genetic and environmental factors and immune pathways.…”