Study finds links between bacteria in wastewater and chronic disease

Health researchers are expanding on testing methods developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to track chronic diseases, health behaviors, and socioeconomic conditions through wastewater. A new study from The Ohio State University found associations between bacteria in sewage and community rates of conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, and asthma. FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that researchers analyzed 27 samples taken from nine treatment plants serving 1.3 million people across eight urban and rural communities. WOWO and UA.NEWS noted that the research was published in the journal Environmental Research and utilized samples collected in 2022. According to WOWO, the team examined bacteria associated with the human gut and compared the findings with public data on health behaviors, demographics, and chronic diseases. FOX 13 Tampa Bay stated that each studied city had its own bacterial profile, with researchers linking certain bacteria to smoking, depression, physical activity, and unemployment. \n\nFOX 13 Tampa Bay and WOWO reported that rural areas generally had higher levels of the bacteria and more chronic health conditions. As lead author and former Ohio State doctoral student Emma Lancaster stated, \u0022In many cases, poor health outcomes are worse in rural areas and to see these distinct indicators of poorer gut microbiome health in these rural areas offers us clues to some of what is driving that.\u0022 Researchers paid special attention to a bacterial group called Desulfovibrio. According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, this group was connected to eight health factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, and stroke. \n\nJiyoung Lee, professor and chair of environmental health sciences at Ohio State and the study's senior author, noted that \u0022Wastewater offers a unique way to understand the health of whole communities, not just the people who show up in clinics.\u0022 FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that the study's authors believe this method could help identify populations facing health problems more quickly, allowing officials to direct resources sooner. UA.NEWS added that wastewater monitoring is already used to track viruses such as COVID-19, influenza, and mpox. Researchers also suggest that analyzing microbiome changes could eventually help evaluate public health initiatives, such as determining if nutrition programs are improving gut health.