NCT05931536

The Relationship Between Diet, Cognition, Stress, and the Gut Microbiota

The Relationship Between Diet, Cognition, Stress, and the Gut Microbiota: A Cross-sectional Study in Healthy Adults

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 350 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University College Cork · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: —

Summary

This study aims to investigate the relationship between diet and the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Detailed description

Dietary fibre is well-known for its many health benefits, including the support of gastrointestinal, metabolic, and mental health. Although studies investigating whole dietary patterns in relation to cognition have demonstrated that diet quality and a healthy dietary pattern are associated with better cognitive performance, the role of dietary fibre in this regard is understudied. It is now understood that the gut microbiota (trillions of microbes inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract) communicates bidirectionally with the brain to influence mental health and cognition. Importantly, dietary fibre has been shown to positively affect the microbiota composition. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of dietary fibre on the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Using a cross-sectional design, habitual low fibre (\<=18 grams/day, n=200), moderate fibre (18.1-24.9 grams/day, n=75), and high fibre (=\>25 g/day, n=75) consumers will be compared at baseline on measures of cognition, responses to acute and chronic stress, and biological markers of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The investigators hypothesize that participants with higher dietary fibre intake at baseline will perform better in the cognitive tasks compared to individuals with low fibre intake, and that this difference can, in part, be mediated by the gut microbiota.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Dietary fibre	Habitual dietary consumption from a variety of foods will be assessed using 7-day food logs entered by the participant and assessed for accuracy by a dietitian.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-07-14
• Primary completion: 2025-07-14
• Completion: 2025-07-14
• First posted: 2023-07-05
• Last updated: 2024-09-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Ireland