Gut Issues in Childhood may predict future Mental Health Problems By Jenn Sinrich

Gut Issues in Childhood May Predict Future Mental Health Problems

This Parents article on a really important study linking childhood trauma, gut microbiome biodiversity, and mood disorders later in life.

Researchers studied the link between the gut and brain that's rarely been investigated in children. As part of their findings, which were published March 28 in the journal Development and Psychopathology, they explored the role of trauma and how it directly impacts both the gastrointestinal and mental well-being of individuals from a young age.

"Our study is among the first to link disruption of a child's gastrointestinal microbiome triggered by early-life adversity with brain activity in regions associated with emotional health," study lead author Bridget Callaghan, a post-doctoral research fellow in Columbia's psychology department, told Columbia News."This study has tremendous implications for how we treat physical illness down the road," says Maya Shetreat, M.D., integrative pediatric neurologist and founder of the Terrain Institute, a transformational healing program. "I think, as a result of this study, the medical community will have to do better in treating childhood trauma as part of the root cause of physical illness, rather than relying on pharmaceuticals to simply mask symptoms."Read more at https://www.parents.com/news/gut-issues-in-childhood-may-predict-future-mental-health-problems-study-says/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=twittershareImage Roman Yanushevsky/Shutterstock