A recent study published on November 20, 2024, analyzed nearly 2,000 individuals in remote Honduran villages to explore the transmission of gut microorganisms among them.

The research involved 1,787 adults from 18 isolated villages, where the average household size was 3.49 people and the average participant age was 41.

Led by Nicholas Christakis at Yale University, the team mapped social connections in these villages, which had limited access to processed foods and antibiotics, enhancing the reliability of their findings.

Participants were asked about their social connections, resulting in the identification of 4,658 unique social network links, which were analyzed based on the frequency and nature of interactions.

The study revealed that the composition of gut microbiomes among friends and social connections is more similar than expected, indicating a network effect in microbiome sharing.

Findings suggest that certain health conditions related to microbiomes may be more communicable, while benefits of a healthy microbiome can be shared through social ties.

This research may reshape our understanding of how microbiome-related health risks, such as hypertension and depression, can spread socially.

Longitudinal studies indicated that social ties are maintained over time and positively correlated with strain-sharing rates, supporting the idea that social networks influence microbiome continuity.

Microbiologist Catherine Robinson emphasized that social factors have been overlooked in previous research on microbiomes, highlighting the importance of this study.

The study found that individuals centrally located in social networks exhibited greater similarity in microbiomes than those on the periphery, indicating that social networks create environments for microbiome similarity.

Interestingly, the research found that men showed greater microbial similarity with their social connections compared to women, contradicting previous studies.

Experts caution against avoiding social interactions due to fears of 'catching' unhealthy microbes, as social contact can also promote the sharing of beneficial microbiomes.