Chronic stress is associated with altered gut microbiota profile and relevant metabolites in adolescentsOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
This cross-sectional study examined how chronic psychological stress relates to gut microbiota composition and microbiota-derived metabolites in adolescents. Researchers used validated stress instruments to stratify participants by stress level, then profiled fecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing across the full sample. A subset also underwent deeper metagenomic sequencing and untargeted metabolomics to characterize functional and metabolic differences tied to stress. The aim was to clarify a multi-omics gut-stress relationship that remains understudied in adolescent populations.
Who was studied?
The study population was 124 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years, assessed with the Adolescent Life Events Scale and the Study Stress Scale. Participants were divided into low stress (n=42), medium stress (n=41), and high stress (n=41) groups based on these measures. A smaller subset of 30 high-stress and 29 low-stress adolescents was selected for the additional metagenomic and metabolomic analyses. All participants provided fecal samples for microbiota testing.
What were the most important findings?
Adolescents with high chronic stress showed lower gut microbial alpha diversity, distinct beta diversity, and a more complex microbial co-occurrence network compared to lower-stress peers. Statistical testing identified five bacterial genera reduced in abundance among high-stress adolescents, including Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, Akkermansia, and an unclassified Lachnospiraceae genus. These genera are commonly associated with short-chain fatty acid production and gut barrier support, suggesting stress corresponds with a less favorable, lower-diversity microbial community. The abstract text was truncated before metabolomic results could be fully detailed.
What are the greatest implications of this study?
The findings support a link between chronic psychological stress and a disrupted, less diverse gut microbiota in adolescents, a population where this multi-omics relationship has been little studied. Depletion of genera like Faecalibacterium, Bacteroides, and Akkermansia points toward reduced capacity for beneficial microbial functions under high stress. This raises the possibility that gut microbiota profiles could serve as biomarkers of chronic stress exposure or as targets for intervention in stressed youth. Further work integrating the metabolomic data would help clarify the mechanistic pathways connecting stress, microbiota, and adolescent health.