Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy
Background: Oral microbiome dysbiosis has been linked to systemic disease with an underlying inflammatory etiology. However, the possible association of the oral microbiome in antenatal depression has received little attention. Methods: Participants were pregnant women in the PREDICT prenatal cohort...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354625000365 |
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| author | Oryan Agranyoni Treva Rowley Sara B. Johnson Heather Volk William Schleif Raquel G. Hernandez Lauren M. Klein Robert H. Yolken Sarven Sabunciyan |
| author_facet | Oryan Agranyoni Treva Rowley Sara B. Johnson Heather Volk William Schleif Raquel G. Hernandez Lauren M. Klein Robert H. Yolken Sarven Sabunciyan |
| author_sort | Oryan Agranyoni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Oral microbiome dysbiosis has been linked to systemic disease with an underlying inflammatory etiology. However, the possible association of the oral microbiome in antenatal depression has received little attention. Methods: Participants were pregnant women in the PREDICT prenatal cohort study (n = 400) who provided saliva during pregnancy. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we determined the association between composition of the salivary microbiome and a continuous measure of depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D): 0–60) as well as clinically significant depressive symptoms during pregnancy (CES-D score> 16, n = 46) compared with women without clinically significant symptoms (n = 327). Results: CES-D scores were associated with differences in bacterial levels in the salivary microbiome. Women with clinically significant depressive symptoms (CES-D≥16) had significantly lower abundance in nine bacterial taxa, including the Neisseria genus, which has previously been positively associated with oral health and negatively correlated with pro-inflammatory cytokines, mental health, and infant birth weight. Findings were not explained by body mass index, smoking, antibiotic administration, oral health problems, or gestational week. Prediction tools based on 16S sequences indicated that significantly lower levels of several pathways related to the biosynthesis of Menaquinol, Ectoine biosynthesis, and D-glucarate degradation, were associated with women with depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential relationship between the oral microbiome and antenatal depression, highlighting microbiome measures as a promising source of biomarkers for maternal mental health. This study suggests previously unexplored aspects for understanding the microbiome's composition in women with mental health problems, emphasizing the need for further longitudinal investigations to elucidate the temporal dynamics of the oral microbiome in pregnancy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-789d843fb01e4edebe4e857af4240891 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-3546 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-789d843fb01e4edebe4e857af42408912025-08-20T02:30:14ZengElsevierBrain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health2666-35462025-05-014510097810.1016/j.bbih.2025.100978Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancyOryan Agranyoni0Treva Rowley1Sara B. Johnson2Heather Volk3William Schleif4Raquel G. Hernandez5Lauren M. Klein6Robert H. Yolken7Sarven Sabunciyan8Stanley Division, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USAStanley Division, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USADivision of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA; Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USADepartment of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USADivision of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA; Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, USAJohns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, USA; Center for Pediatric Health Equity Research, USADivision of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA; Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USAStanley Division, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USAStanley Division, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA; Corresponding author.Background: Oral microbiome dysbiosis has been linked to systemic disease with an underlying inflammatory etiology. However, the possible association of the oral microbiome in antenatal depression has received little attention. Methods: Participants were pregnant women in the PREDICT prenatal cohort study (n = 400) who provided saliva during pregnancy. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we determined the association between composition of the salivary microbiome and a continuous measure of depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D): 0–60) as well as clinically significant depressive symptoms during pregnancy (CES-D score> 16, n = 46) compared with women without clinically significant symptoms (n = 327). Results: CES-D scores were associated with differences in bacterial levels in the salivary microbiome. Women with clinically significant depressive symptoms (CES-D≥16) had significantly lower abundance in nine bacterial taxa, including the Neisseria genus, which has previously been positively associated with oral health and negatively correlated with pro-inflammatory cytokines, mental health, and infant birth weight. Findings were not explained by body mass index, smoking, antibiotic administration, oral health problems, or gestational week. Prediction tools based on 16S sequences indicated that significantly lower levels of several pathways related to the biosynthesis of Menaquinol, Ectoine biosynthesis, and D-glucarate degradation, were associated with women with depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential relationship between the oral microbiome and antenatal depression, highlighting microbiome measures as a promising source of biomarkers for maternal mental health. This study suggests previously unexplored aspects for understanding the microbiome's composition in women with mental health problems, emphasizing the need for further longitudinal investigations to elucidate the temporal dynamics of the oral microbiome in pregnancy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354625000365PregnancyOral microbiomeTrimesterSmokingDepressive symptomsNeisseria |
| spellingShingle | Oryan Agranyoni Treva Rowley Sara B. Johnson Heather Volk William Schleif Raquel G. Hernandez Lauren M. Klein Robert H. Yolken Sarven Sabunciyan Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health Pregnancy Oral microbiome Trimester Smoking Depressive symptoms Neisseria |
| title | Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| title_full | Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| title_fullStr | Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| title_short | Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| title_sort | oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy |
| topic | Pregnancy Oral microbiome Trimester Smoking Depressive symptoms Neisseria |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354625000365 |
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