Pregnant Women's Saliva Microbes May Hold Clue to Mental Health

New Delhi, Nov 27 (Alayaran.com) - A groundbreaking study from Michigan State University has found that microbes in saliva of pregnant women could be a potential indicator of mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the research, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Mental Health, oral microbiomes - the number and type of microbes present in saliva - were analyzed from 224 pregnant women during their second trimester. The study found that women experiencing anxiety or depression had a high alpha diversity of microbes, indicating multiple types of species present.

On the other hand, women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed a high beta diversity, meaning the microbial species significantly differed from those in women with low symptoms.

According to researchers, this is the first study to explore oral microbiomes and maternal mental health. Previous studies have linked microbes in the digestive tract to mental health conditions in pregnant women, but no previous research has examined oral microbiomes specifically.

The findings suggest that a woman's oral microbiome may be a potential target for improving psychological well-being during pregnancy, according to lead researcher Joseph Lonstein.

"Mental health is crucial for mothers' well-being and their ability to care for infants," said Professor Lonstein. "We hope our study will contribute to future research on the association between microbes in different parts of the body and mental health in mothers."