AUTHOR=Li Chun'e , Chen Yujing , Wen Yan , Jia Yumeng , Cheng Shiqiang , Liu Li , Zhang Huijie , Pan Chuyu , Zhang Jingxi , Zhang Zhen , Yang Xuena , Meng Peilin , Yao Yao , Zhang Feng 

TITLE=A genetic association study reveals the relationship between the oral microbiome and anxiety and depression symptoms

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.960756

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.960756

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Background. Growing evidence supports that the alterations in the gut microbiota play an important role in the etiology of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. The potential effect of oral microbiota on mental health has received little attention.
Methods. Using the latest genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data of the oral microbiome, polygenic risk scores (PRSs) of 285 salivary microbiomes and 309 tongue dorsum microbiomes were conducted. Logistic and linear regression models were applied to evaluate the associations of salivary-tongue dorsum microbiome interactions with anxiety and depression. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was utilized to compute the causal effects between the oral microbiome, anxiety, and depression.
Results. We observed significant salivary-tongue dorsum microbiome interactions related to anxiety and depression traits. Significantly, 1 common interaction was observed to be associated with both anxiety score and depression score, Centipeda periodontii SGB 224 × Granulicatella uSGB 3289 (P depression score = 1.41×10-8, P anxiety score = 5.10×10-8). Furthermore, we detected the causal effects between oral microbiome and anxiety and depression. Importantly, we identified 1 salivary microbiome associated with both anxiety and depression in both the UKB database and Finngen public database, Eggerthia (P IVW-major depression-UKB = 2.99×10-6, P IVW-Self-reported anxiety/panic attacks-UKB = 3.06×10-59, P IVW-depression-Finngen = 3.16×10-16, P IVW-anxiety-Finngen = 1.14×10-115).
Conclusion. This study systematically explored the relationships between the oral microbiome and anxiety and depression, which could help improve our understanding of disease pathogenesis and propose new diagnostic targets and early intervention strategies.