Exploring the relationship between mental health and gut microbiome in Western and non-Western settings

The gut microbiome has previously been associated with mental health and social interactions. Last year, a major gut microbiome study performed on a Dutch cohort has shown associations with mental health and species. However, associations with mental health phenotypes (like anxiety and depression) are much weaker than diet or other health factors. Mental health is an understudied phenotype in the context of gut microbiome, with the help of social phenotypes, we aim to quantify the full extent of this relationship. Since we have the largest non-western cohort, we aim to do a comparative study between our cohort and the Dutch cohort.