اثرات دریافت مکمل پروبیوتیک بر عوامل خطر بیماری‌های قلبی- عروقی در افراد مبتلا به اختلال افسردگی اساسی: یک کارآزمایی بالینی تصادفی

Background: Depression has been associated with cardiovascular disease in previous research. They also have stated that probiotics have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of probiotics in this association.
Methods: In this study, fifty patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who were candidates for fluoxetine were randomly selected and divided into two groups. One group received fluoxetine (20 mg) with a probiotic supplement which contained Lactobacillus holoticus and Bifidobacterium langum (2 × 10⁹ CFU/g for each) and another group received fluoxetine with a placebo during 8-week period. 10 ml of fasting blood was taken from patients for biochemical measurements.
Findings: After 8 weeks of intervention, patients in the probiotic group had significant decrease in serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels compared with the placebo group (2.599± 0.990 vs. 2.704 ± 1.361 ng/ml, P = 0.017). At the end of the study, although, there was significant increase in catalase (30.06 ± 3.443 vs. 26.24 ± 6.908 U, P = 0.037) and decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) (15.13 ± 3.574vs. 17.40 ± 3.170 mg/dl, P = 0.029) levels in the probiotic group, but after 8 weeks, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Other variables did not change significantly.
Conclusion: Although probiotics can improve cardiovascular status by reducing general inflammation in the body, they are not specifically associated with lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.