2026, Łagowska, Karolina, Ptaszyńska, Dagmara

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is commonly associated with psychological disorders, including depression and anxiety. Women with PCOS also tend to experience poorer sleep quality and greater daytime sleepiness than healthy individuals. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic reviews have investigated the impact of probiotic supplementation on mental health and sleep patterns in women with PCOS. Emerging evidence indicates that probiotic therapy may be a promising adjunct for enhancing mental well-being and sleep quality within this population. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation on depression, anxiety, and sleep quality in adult women with PCOS. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving women aged 18–45 years old, with diagnosed PCOS, who received probiotic/synbiotic supplements and enriched foods compared with placebo. Studies had to assess mental health, depressive symptoms, or sleep disorders using validated questionnaires. Five publications met the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome inclusion criteria (PICO) and were included in the final analysis. Results: Probiotic supplementation was associated with significant improvements in sleep quality (assessed by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), depressive symptoms (assessed by Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, DASS 21) and some domains of quality of life (measured by Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Health Related Quality of Life Questionnaire, PCOSQ-26). Conclusions: Although probiotic supplementation may benefit mental health and sleep parameters in women with PCOS, this evidence is limited due to the small number of studies, modest sample sizes, and methodological variability. Further research with larger, more rigorous studies is needed to confirm these findings.

2022, Łagowska, Karolina, Bajerska, Joanna, Kamiński, Szymon, Del Bo’, Cristian

This study examines the effectiveness of probiotic supplementation on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, the gut barrier function, and inflammatory markers in athletes based on data from randomised controlled trials. Searches were conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science up to October 2021. The protocol for this review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021284938). Two reviewers independently screened the titles, abstracts, and full texts to identify articles on the influence of probiotics or symbiotics on GI symptoms, gut barrier function, and cytokines, and the quality of the studies was assessed using RoB2. Ten articles involving 822 athletes were included in this review. A single strain Lactobacillus bacteria was used in three studies, seven studies used a Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium multi-strain cocktail, and one study used this cocktail with a prebiotic. Only slight evidence was found for a positive effect of probiotics on GI symptoms in athletes during training, exercise, and competition, so it was not possible to identify the best product for managing GI symptoms in athletes. Due to the small number of studies, it was also difficult to find a direct association between the reduced exercise-induced perturbations in cytokines, gut barrier function, and GI symptoms after probiotic supplementation.