Currently, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 in the United States. Although the understanding of our body’s microbiome and how it affects our mental health is still unclear, the effect of the microbiome on suicidal ideation (SI) has not yet been explored. To determine if there is an association between the microbiome and SI, Ahrens and colleagues took saliva from 489 participants (318 female) to examine the relationship between their salivary microbiome, diet, and genetic markers that may contribute to SI. In this cohort, 59 participants reported SI, 60 met the criteria for moderate to severe depression, 155 met the criteria for mild depression, and the other 213 either had no depression or minimal. One significant driving factor of SI in this study was an increased number of sleep disturbances. More specifically, females who endorsed SI were significantly more likely than males to report sleep disturbances in the past 2 weeks. Interestingly, the number of nuts consumed regularly affected the likelihood a person would endorse SI where those who consumed nuts less than 2-3x per week were more likely to struggle with SI. As for biological markers associated with SI, these researchers found a significant association between a number of genetic alleles, which increased the likelihood of SI, none more than the minor G allele at rs10437629 which was associated with a 2.6x increased incidence of SI. Lastly, there were a number of salivary microbiome differences, irrespective of sleep issues, that significantly contributed to the likelihood of endorsing SI. Overall, this study provides quality evidence that sleep disturbances, diet, genetics, and our body’s microbiome can significantly contribute to a person’s mental health and their likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation.

Reference:

Ahrens, AP et al. Sci Rep 2022; 12(1), 14306. Abstract.