Abstract

Due to its potential to explain psychiatric risk, the connection between the gut microbiome and the brain has gained increasing scientific and public interest. Although a number of mental health issues have been linked to variations in the composition of the gut microbiome, the evidence to date has largely been based on studies on humans and animal models with small sample sizes. The purpose of this cross-sectional study on 1,784 ten-yearolds from the multiethnic, population-based Generation R Study was to identify relationships between mental health issues in children and the gut microbiome. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, the gut microbiome was examined in stool samples. The maternally rated Child Behavior Checklist was used to assess both general psychiatric symptoms and specific domains of emotional and behavioral issues. There was no significant correlation between lower gut microbiome diversity and higher rates of specific and overall mental health issues. In a similar vein, after correcting for multiple tests, we were unable to find any taxonomic characteristics that were associated with mental health issues. However, our findings did suggest that genera that had been associated with psychiatric disorders, such as Hungatella, Anaerotruncus, or Oscillospiraceae, had diminished. The distinguished compositional overflow contrasts were viewed as comparative across all emotional well-being issues. Lastly, there was no significant enrichment for particular microbial functions associated with mental health issues. In conclusion, based on the largest sample ever examined, we cannot conclude that mental health issues in children are associated with gut microbiome diversity, taxonomies, or functions. In order to determine whether and when associations between the gut microbiome and mental health emerge throughout development and into adulthood, it will be essential in the future to employ longitudinal designs that include repeated measurements of the microbiome and psychiatric outcomes.