Exercise effect on the gut microbiota in young adolescents with subthreshold depression: A randomized psychoeducation-controlled Trial

This 3-month randomized psychoeducation-controlled trial (RCT) of exercise was undertaken in young adolescents with subthreshold depression to examine the impact on gut microbiota. Participants (aged 12–14 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise or a psychoeducation-controlled group. The exercise intervention arm took moderate-intensity exercise, comprised of 30 min of running per day, 4 days a week for 3 months. Psychoeducation intervention consisted of 6 sessions of group activity including gaming, reading, and singing. The gut microbiota was assessed by metagenomic sequencing. After 3-month moderate-intensity exercise, the intervention group increased the relative abundance of Coprococcus, Blautia, Dorea, Tyzzerella at the genus level, as well as Tyzzerella nexilis, Ruminococcus obeum at species level when compared to the psychoeducation-controlled group. Moreover, EggNOG analyses showed that the defense and signal transduction mechanism were highly enriched after the active intervention, and changes were correlated with improvements in depressive symptoms measured by Chinese Patient Depression Questionnaire 9. The KEGG pathway of neurodegenerative diseases was depleted in the microbiome in young adolescents with subthreshold depression after exercise intervention. This 3-month RCT suggests that at both the genus and species levels, aerobic group exercise intervention improved in depressive symptoms and revealed changes in gut microbiota suggesting beneficial effects.