The Microbiome Of Love

We know that isolation is associated with a shorter, less healthy lifespan perhaps because the microbiome of isolated individuals is less diverse.

We know that a more diverse microbiome is associated with greater longevity and less disease burden. We know from animal studies that the microbiome of animal mates is more similar to each other than to other members of their group. Human studies on the microbiome among cohabitating adults shows mixed results. Some studies of couples show similar microbiomes among cohabitating studies. Some don’t.

This fascinating study hypothesized that the microbiome is less affected by the proximity of one person to another than by the way they felt about each other, independent of their marital status. It is a fascinating hypothesis that bridges a well known gap between the social sciences and the biological sciences. Can feelings of intimacy and closeness (love) have an effect on the bacteria that live in our guts? The authors used a 60-year long Wisconsin Longitudinal Study of 10,317 individuals who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957 to test this hypothesis. They profiled the gut microbiome from the stools of 408 individuals and compared them with their spouses and siblings. The study adjusted the data to account for variability due to age, sex, antibiotic use, chronic disease (heart disease and diabetes), and dietary proteins (the most prominent dietary determinant of microbiota variation in this sample).

The authors found that the microbiome of married or cohabitating couples were more similar and had more of a diverse and health-promoting microbiome than that of sibling pairs and isolated individuals in friend circles…but get this… this only occurred when the couple reported a very close relationship. If the couple reported that their relationship was not very close then their microbiome was not similar.

The microbiome of couples who were “not close”, was more akin to the relationship between microbiomes of unrelated individuals. Remember the study controlled for similarity in diet so diet doesn’t explain why the microbiomes of married intimate couples were more similar.  And the study controlled for sex which becomes especially important because all couples studied were male-female.

The authors hypothesize that intimate behaviors (not necessarily sexually intimate behaviors) resulting from feeling of being very close in relationships were a possible cause for the similarities found. This was not a study that could determine causes. This study looked for associations. Given the associations between being married and longevity, having a more diverse and abundant microbiome and less incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, and not the observation that very close couples share a more diverse microbiome, one wonders if there are ways to enhance microbiome health and thus overall longevity and reduce disease burden through love.

Love and your microbiome. Just another reason to wonder who is really running our show: our minds, our hearts/emotions, or our gut and its treasure trove of bacteria? Does a more diverse microbiome help you or your bacteria identify and mate with your best prospective spouse? It is a gut level question.

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