Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,768 studies31 sourcesUpdated 19 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYPLOS One

Salivary microbiome, socioeconomic status, and cognitive performance: Triangulating the relationship

  • Oxana Y Naumova1,2
  • Pavel V Dobrynin1
  • Griffin Litwin3
  • Sergey Y Rychkov2
  • Michael P Milham4,5
  • Elena L Grigorenko1,6,7
7 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
  2. 2Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences RAS, Moscow, Russia.
  3. 3Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
  4. 4Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, United States of America.
  5. 5Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, United States of America.
  6. 6Departments of Molecular and Human Genetics and Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
  7. 7Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Research increasingly demonstrates that endogenous bacterial communities (microbiomes) are associated with both cognitive functioning and socioeconomic status (SES). In this study, we used a metagenomics approach to characterize oral microbiome diversity in Hispanic and African American children aged 6–16 years. We examined how microbiome composition and SES were related to cognitive performance, as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Our findings indicate that SES and the microbiome contributed complementary, comparably sized influences on cognitive functioning. Together, variability in conventional SES indicators and microbiome composition accounted for approximately 10% of the variability in WISC scores. These results highlight the importance of integrating both social and biological determinants of health when studying cognitive performance and other psychological outcomes.

Related

  1. Is There a Relationship Between the Gut Microbiome and the Functional Capabilities of Skeletal Muscle? A Narrative Review
    Kristin S. Ondrak, Evan A. Seicshnaydre, Sharon J. Duffy +4
    NutrientsPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textMolecular biology & gene regulationEurope PMCCrossref
  2. Infant gut microbiome neuroactive pathways link to social disadvantage, toddler neurodevelopment, cognitive and behavioural outcomes: a longitudinal cohort study
    Giljae Lee, Bruce A. Rosa, I. Malick Ndao +11
    eBioMedicinePeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textMolecular biology & gene regulationCrossrefDOAJPMC
  3. Premature epigenetic aging, deviations from normative brain development, and cognitive performance in young adulthood
    Lukas Pelant, Radek Marecek, Anna Pačínková +3
    Translational PsychiatryPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textMolecular biology & gene regulationPMC
  4. Equity dimensions of future vulnerabilities to climate hazards: Long-term spatial population projections for New York City consistent with Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
    Deborah Balk, Jenna F. Tipaldo, Leiwen Jiang +1
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full text1 citedMolecular biology & gene regulationPMC
  5. Microbiota in Liver Carcinogenesis: Illuminating the Complex Relationship
    Natthaya Chuaypen, Thasinas Dissayabutra, Jasmohan S. Bajaj
    Best practice & research. Clinical gastroenterologyPeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull textMolecular biology & gene regulationPMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{naumova2026salivary,
  title = {{Salivary microbiome, socioeconomic status, and cognitive performance: Triangulating the relationship}},
  author = {Oxana Y Naumova and Pavel V Dobrynin and Griffin Litwin and Sergey Y Rychkov and Michael P Milham and Elena L Grigorenko},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0361602},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361602},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Salivary microbiome, socioeconomic status, and cognitive performance: Triangulating the relationship
AU  - Oxana Y Naumova
AU  - Pavel V Dobrynin
AU  - Griffin Litwin
AU  - Sergey Y Rychkov
AU  - Michael P Milham
AU  - Elena L Grigorenko
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/02
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0361602
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361602
AB  - Research increasingly demonstrates that endogenous bacterial communities (microbiomes) are associated with both cognitive functioning and socioeconomic status (SES). In this study, we used a metagenomics approach to characterize oral microbiome diversity in Hispanic and African American children aged 6–16 years. We examined how microbiome composition and SES were related to cognitive performance, as assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). Our findings indicate that SES and the microbiome contributed complementary, comparably sized influences on cognitive functioning. Together, variability in conventional SES indicators and microbiome composition accounted for approximately 10% of the variability in WISC scores. These results highlight the importance of integrating both social and biological determinants of health when studying cognitive performance and other psychological outcomes.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -