Relationship between oral microbiota, mental health in pregnancy

The oral microbiome may hold indicators of maternal mental health symptoms.

In a study published in BMJ Mental Health, researchers examined the association between the oral microbiome and symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in 224 pregnant women in their second trimesters. They collected saliva samples and performed 16S rRNA sequencing on the samples to analyze the oral microbiomes of the participants.

Streptococcaceae, Prevotellaceae and Veillonellaceae were the most prevalent bacterial families identified from the saliva samples. The participants with higher levels of anxiety or depression were more likely to have greater bacterial species richness in their samples compared with those who had lower levels of the mental health issues. In addition, the patients who experienced recent life stress had a greater abundance of Proteobacteria, those with higher depression symptoms had a greater abundance of Spirochaetes, those with higher anxiety or depression symptoms had a greater abundance of Dialister and those with higher anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms had a greater abundance of Eikenella bacteria.

The findings indicated that the oral microbiome may be associated with maternal mental health issues during early pregnancy in ways distinct from the gut microbiome. The researchers suggested that novel strategies should be developed to target the oral microbiota and improve maternal psychological well-being.

Read more: BMJ Mental Health

The article presented here is intended to inform you about the broader media perspective on dentistry, regardless of its alignment with the ADA's stance. It is important to note that publication of an article does not imply the ADA's endorsement, agreement, or promotion of its content.