Objective To explore the difference in gut microbiota composition between patients with depressive or anxiety state and healthy people.

Methods From May 2017 to April 2018, 237 patients of department of general practice and psychological clinic of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University were selected. According to the evaluation of patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7), they were divided into simple depression group (n=38), simple anxiety group (n=36), depression combined with anxiety group (n=43) and healthy control group (n=120). Feces of patients were collected. High-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics were used to analyze diversity and abundance at different levels of gut microbiota.

Results Compared with the healthy controls, there was no significant difference in alpha and beta diversity in the simple depression group, simple anxiety group, and depression combined with anxiety group. At the genus level, the abundance of Clostridium significantly reduced in the simple depression group and simple anxiety group.

Conclusions There is no significant difference in the structure of gut microbiota between patients with depressive or anxiety state and healthy people. Clostridium may play a role in the development of depression and anxiety.