New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Microbes in a pregnant woman's saliva could reveal if she's experiencing stress and symptoms of mental conditions, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new research.
Oral microbiomes -- the number and type of microbes in saliva -- of women experiencing anxiety or depression were found to have a high alpha diversity, meaning many types of microbes species were present.
The research from Michigan State University, US, also found that the oral microbiomes of women with post-traumatic stress disorder instead revealed a high beta diversity, meaning that the species notably differed from those in women showing low symptoms.
Researchers said that while previous studies have found links between microbes in the digestive tract and mental health, including stress, anxiety and depression, in pregnant and postpartum women, no studies have looked at oral microbiomes with regard to maternal mental health.
The findings suggested that one's oral microbiome could be a potential target for improving psychological well-being during pregnancy.
"Our study shows that numerous aspects of the oral microbiome in pregnancy are associated with women’s life stress and mental health. Importantly, these associations differ from studies of the gut microbiome and studies of non-pregnant people," the authors wrote in the study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Mental Health.
For the study, saliva samples from 224 pregnant women were assessed for recent stresses and mental health symptoms during their second trimester. The women were recruited from the larger 'Michigan Prenatal Stress Study'.
"Positive mental health is crucial for mothers' well-being and their ability to sensitively care for infants," lead researcher Joseph Lonstein, a professor in Michigan State University's Department of Psychology, said.
"We hope our study will stimulate future research on how microbes in and on our body, other than those in our gastrointestinal tract that are already often studied, are associated with mental health in mothers and even people who are not mothers," Lonstein said.