Socioeconomic Status and the Gut Microbiome: A TwinsUK Cohort Study.

Ruth Bowyer,Tim Spector,Mary Ni Lochlainn,Jennifer Dowd,Matthew Jackson,Claire Steves,Caroline Le Roy

doi:10.3390/microorganisms7010017

Abstract

Socioeconomic inequalities in health and mortality are well established, but the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are less understood. In parallel, the gut microbiome is emerging as a potentially important determinant of human health, but little is known about its broader environmental and social determinants. We test the association between gut microbiota composition and individual- and area-level socioeconomic factors in a well-characterized twin cohort. In this study, 1672 healthy volunteers from twin registry TwinsUK had data available for at least one socioeconomic measure, existing fecal 16S rRNA microbiota data, and all considered co-variables. Associations with socioeconomic status (SES) were robust to adjustment for known health correlates of the microbiome; conversely, these health-microbiome associations partially attenuated with adjustment for SES. Twins discordant for IMD (Index of Multiple Deprivation) were shown to significantly differ by measures of compositional dissimilarity, with suggestion the greater the difference in twin pair IMD, the greater the dissimilarity of their microbiota. Future research should explore how SES might influence the composition of the gut microbiota and its potential role as a mediator of differences associated with SES.

Highlights

There is increasing evidence that the human gut microbiota play an important role in a broad range of physiological functions, including immune system maturation, metabolic and inflammatory processes, and health deficits [1,2,3]
Lower socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with less healthy diet, more health deficits, and higher Body Mass Index (BMI), as shown in Additional File 2
The coefficients for BMI, age, and diet were attenuated in models including income, suggesting that income could explain some of the variance attributed to these factors

Summary

Introduction

There is increasing evidence that the human gut microbiota play an important role in a broad range of physiological functions, including immune system maturation, metabolic and inflammatory processes, and health deficits [1,2,3]. The social environment may influence the human microbiome across the life course through a variety of pathways [8]. Life exposures such as mode of delivery (vaginal or caesarean section), initiation and duration of breastfeeding, antibiotic use, interactions with the indoor and outdoor environment, and dietary habits are likely to be highly influenced by social status and relationships [9,10,11]. Recent studies in primates suggest that social relationships impact the composition of the gut microbiota through microbial sharing between individuals [12,13,14,15]. Cohabiting humans have more similar microbial communities compared to those living apart and shifts in older adults’ gut microbiota composition are observed upon moving from community dwelling to a nursing home [16,17]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion