Researchers at Nottingham Trent University (NTU, UK) noticed that married couples have a lot of the same gut, oral, and skin . But how does that affect partners’ health?
Living with a partner, we share not only a home, a lifestyle, and interests. We also share the microscopic organisms that live on and inside us.
That community of microorganisms — bacteria, viruses, and fungi — is known collectively as the human microbiome. It plays an important role in maintaining our health.
develops starting at birth. During contact with the mother, an infant acquires microbes that strengthen the immune and digestive systems. As we age, interactions with close contacts continue to influence this delicate community.
Partners share about 30 percent of the gut microbes with each other. Microbes from other body sites also transfer to a partner and affect that partner’s health.
How living together shapes the gut microbiome
Studies show that partners who live together have higher microbial diversity than people who live alone.
That’s good news for couples, because a more diverse is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and lower blood sugar levels.
But some types of microorganisms pose health risks to couples. For example, bacteria from the Ruminococcus family live in the large intestine. While some Ruminococcus species are beneficial, others are associated with the development of diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and arthritis.
Why couples’ mouths share so many microbes
Exchanging oral microbes between partners is common, since they regularly swap saliva during kisses. In a ten-second kiss, a couple exchanges roughly 80 million bacteria. The more a couple kisses, the more bacteria they share, Science Alert reported.
Studies found that couples who live together have oral microbiomes that are 38 percent identical. Couples who don’t live together share only about 3 percent of oral bacteria.
NTU researchers found that oral microbes can spread to the gut and the nervous system. Some bacteria that partners exchange are potentially harmful.
An interesting example is Neisseria bacteria, which are shaped like coffee beans. Their presence in the guts of couples is higher than in single people. These bacteria can live in the mouth for a long time without causing disease. However, some Neisseria species cause meningitis.
Skin microbiome: why partners’ skin bacteria match
The skin microbiota is unique and personalized. It’s even sometimes called a microbial fingerprint.
Close contact with partners (and pets) strongly influences which bacteria settle on our skin. Comparing the gut, oral, and skin microbiomes of couples, scientists found that skin microbiomes are the most similar between partners.
That’s because people naturally shed their bacteria, similar to how dogs shed fur. We leave bacteria on everything we touch, and we just as easily pick them up from the environment.
Using computer models, NTU researchers accurately predicted the microbiome status of 86 percent of cohabiting partners based only on each person’s individual bacterial samples.
But there is a positive side to sharing bacteria with a partner. These microorganisms teach the body to fight infections, help digest food, and even produce essential nutrients. So the bacteria we share with partners sometimes help our health rather than harm it.
Photo: pexels.com
