Letter to the Editor: Adolescent mental health in transition - bridging neurobiological insights and modifiable risk factors for anxiety and depression

Figure 1 Hypothetical conceptual model illustrating how functional constipation and gut dysbiosis may contribute to adolescent anxiety and depression through systemic inflammation, microglial activation, and impaired neuroplasticity in mood-regulating circuits. Integrating epidemiologic insights with neurobiological mechanisms supports gut-brain-targeted, school-based, and precision prevention strategies to strengthen adolescent mental health. This figure was created by BioRender (Supplementary material).