A bodies' microbial imprint can be significantly affected by their partners. This is important because the state of your microbiome can affect your overall physical and mental health. A growing body of evidence suggests that our microbiome also plays a crucial role in our relationships and vice versa. There is a complex, almost perverse interconnectedness between the quality of relationships, the gut-microbiome and your mental health. Considering how much your partner can affect your microbiome and thus overall health, should we start worrying about our partner's microbiome compatibility to our own?
How your partner affects your microbiome
Studies have shown that couples who share a deep emotional connection tend to have a more synchronised microbiome. This synchronisation can be attributed to various factors, including shared environment, diet, and touch. In fact, research has found that couples who kiss frequently have similar oral microbiota, and couples who touch frequently, have a similar skin microbiome.
Cheng et al. have also found that a couples who have a more diverse (but still synchronised) microbiome experienced greater relationship satisfaction and intimacy, and couples who had microbiomes that were different to each others were more likely to hold back on sharing thoughts and feelings, a trait that is related to poor relationship quality.
Synchronized microbiomes are correlated to touch, while diverse microbiomes are correlated to health.
Similarly, just like how a balanced, diverse microbiota can help to improve your relationship, a severed relationship can severely affect your microbiome. Romantic relationship dissolution (for example through breakups or death) are a common traumatic life stressor. Its occurrence can disrupt the delicate balance of our gut microbiome. This disruption can lead to a decline in gut microbiota diversity, compromising our immune function and increasing our susceptibility to chronic diseases.
Partner Microbiome Compatibility
Knowing how interconnected relationships are to your microbiome, we really need to ask, do the quality of our relationships depend on how compatible our microbiomes are with our partners? There is no solid research done on humans yet, but rudimentary studies done on fruit flies have shown that they have show preferential mating with other fruit flies that have a similar microbiome. While it is unlikely that we will be more attracted to partners of a similar microbiome profile (humans are much more complex than fruit flies), choosing a partner that does not disrupt your microbiome too much might make it easier to manage health issues. And if your partner is has a significantly more different microbiome than you (i.e. interracial relationships/very different diets), a more proactive approach would be required to overcome such differences, not dissimilar to navigating cultural differences to build a strong connection.
It becomes your responsibility as a good partner to maintain healthy shared microbiomes. |
There is still a universe of research that we need to complete before coming to any conclusions. As we navigate the complexities of love and relationships, it's essential to consider the intricate web of connections between our hearts, our guts, our microbes and our partner/s. By understanding our microbial imprints and fostering a balanced microbiome, we can cultivate stronger, more resilient relationships and improve our overall well-being. |
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Rowe, M. et al. (2020) ‘The reproductive microbiome: An emerging driver of sexual selection, sexual conflict, mating systems, and reproductive isolation’, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(3), pp. 220–234. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.11.004.
Cheng, Q. et al. (2023) ‘Relationship functioning and gut microbiota composition among older adult couples’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8), p. 5435. doi:10.3390/ijerph20085435.
Chuang, J.-Y. (2021) ‘Romantic relationship dissolution, Microbiota, and fibers’, Frontiers in Nutrition, 8. doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.655038.
