Effect of probiotics on quality of life and depression in pregnant women with gestational diabetes: A randomized double-blinded clinical trial

Women are vulnerable and face variety of problems during pregnancy that can affect mental health and life quality. Pregnancy
complications make pregnant women more prone to loss of quality of life and mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the
effect of probiotic supplement on quality of life and depression in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
Materials & Methods: In this double blind randomized clinical trial, performed on pregnant women with GDM referring to the specialized centers of
gynecology and endocrinology in Tabriz, 64 pregnant women with GDM in 24-28 weeks of pregnancy were randomly assigned to receive either
probiotic supplementation or placebo for 8 weeks. Probiotic supplement was a combination of four strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium,
Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. The short form of Iranian species of World Health Organization Quality
of Life Questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life and the Edinburgh Depression Inventory to assess depression before and after intervention.
Results: Fifty six surveyed individuals completed the study. The effect of probiotic supplementation on changes in the physical dimension of quality of
life was significant, with statistically remarkable increase of 2.59 ± 2.19 units in the probiotic group compared with 2.25 ± 0.88 decrease in the placebo
group (p = 0.045). Also, the increase in mean of total quality of life in the probiotic group was 5.17 ± 1.46 units which was significant compared with
0.46 ± 1.61 units increase in the placebo group (p = 0.029). The effect of probiotic supplementation in comparison with placebo was significant in
improving depression (p = 0.042).
Conclusions: It seems that probiotic supplementation promotes quality of life and depression levels in pregnant women with GDM.