Oral microbiome composition is associated with depressive symptoms during pregnancy

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Maternal mental health
• Oral health

Background:

• Oral microbiome dysbiosis is linked to systemic inflammatory diseases.
• The association between the oral microbiome and antenatal depression is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between salivary microbiome composition and depressive symptoms during pregnancy.
• To identify potential microbial biomarkers for antenatal depression.

Main Methods:

• Saliva samples from 400 pregnant women in the PREDICT cohort were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing.
• The study assessed the association between microbiome composition and continuous (CES-D scale 0-60) and categorical (CES-D > 16) measures of depressive symptoms.

Main Results:

• Depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥16) were associated with significantly lower abundance of nine bacterial taxa, including *Neisseria*.
• Lower levels of pathways for Menaquinol biosynthesis, Ectoine biosynthesis, and D-glucarate degradation were linked to depressive symptoms.
• Findings were independent of BMI, smoking, antibiotic use, oral health, and gestational week.

Conclusions:

• The oral microbiome shows a potential relationship with antenatal depression.
• Microbiome measures may serve as promising biomarkers for maternal mental health.
• Further longitudinal studies are needed to understand the temporal dynamics of the oral microbiome in pregnancy.