Evidence mapPaperPMID 42451209Full record

ReviewNutrients2026

The Interactions Between Circadian Rhythm, Gut Microbiota, and Anxiety: From Mechanisms to Intervention Strategies.

Yijin Wu, Jiaqi Wang, Lumei Kang, Xiaojuan Wan

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Nutrients, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yijin WuDepartment of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China.
Jiaqi WangDepartment of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China.
Lumei KangDepartment of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China.
Xiaojuan WanDepartment of Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China.ORCID 0009-0000-8706-2340

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 31960676Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province 20242BAB20267
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The circadian rhythm is an internal timing system formed by the body's adaptation to the Earth's rotation, which helps maintain homeostasis by regulating physiological, metabolic, and behavioral activities. The gut microbiota (GM), the largest microbial ecosystem in the human body, exhibits a bidirectional regulatory relationship with the host circadian clock. Emerging evidence indicates that circadian rhythm disruption (CRD) is linked to disturbances in the diurnal oscillations and compositional balance of the GM, accompanied by reduced short-chain fatty acid levels, increased lipopolysaccharide leakage, and altered tryptophan metabolism. These microbial abnormalities may be involved in anxiety-like behaviors through three major pathways: neuroendocrine (hyperactivation of the HPA axis), immune (microglia-mediated neuroinflammation), and neurotransmitter (imbalance of the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems). Conversely, microbial metabolites such as butyrate and secondary bile acids may reciprocally regulate peripheral clock gene expression, forming a complex "circadian rhythm-GM-anxiety" interaction network. This review summarizes the molecular basis of circadian-GM interactions, potential GM-mediated mechanisms linking CRD with anxiety, and emerging intervention strategies including chrononutrition (time-restricted feeding, sequential nutrient intake), microbiota-targeted therapies (probiotics/prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation), and light therapy and melatonin supplementation. Future directions should focus on cell-specific mechanisms using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, developing personalized interventions that integrate chronotype and microbiome profiling, and conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials to facilitate clinical translation. This review provides a framework for understanding the integrative role of circadian biology and gut microbiota in anxiety and may help develop precision intervention paradigms.

Indexed as

AnxietyCircadian RhythmGastrointestinal MicrobiomeAnimalsFecal Microbiota TransplantationHumansMelatoninPrebioticsProbioticsMelatoninPrebioticsanxietychrononutritioncircadian rhythmgut microbiotaimmune regulationneuroendocrine

Identifiers

PMID42451209
PMCPMC13364305

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.