Introducing the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group: Considering the Microbial Components of Social, Environmental, and Health Justice

Ishaq, Suzanne L.; Parada, Francisco J.; Wolf, Patricia G.; Bonilla, Carla Yaneth; Carney, Megan A.; Benezra, Amber; Wissel, Emily F.; Friedman, Michael; DeAngelis, Kristen M.; Robinson, Jake M.; Fahimipour, Ashkaan K.; Manus, Melissa B.; Grieneisen, Laura; Dietz, Leslie; Pathak, Ashish; Chauhan, Ashvini; Kuthyar, Sahana; Stewart, James Monroe; Dasari, Mauna; Nonnamaker, Emily; Choudoir, Mallory J.; Horve, Patrick F.; Zimmerman, Naupaka; Kozik, Ariangela J.; Darling, Katherine Weatherford; Romero‐Olivares, Adriana L.; Hariharan, Janani; Farmer, Nicole; Maki, Katherine A.; Collier, Jackie; O’Doherty, Kieran C.; Letourneau, Jeffrey; Kline, Jeff; Moses, Peter L.; Morar, Nicolae

doi:10.1128/msystems.00471-21

Cited by 50 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 129 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…Unlike race or ethnicity, there are clear mechanisms linking these variables with microbiome composition; interventions on these environmental variables are possible and can directly address environmental and health inequalities. However, work must be done across microbiome science to connect differences in microbiota to health disparities caused by structural inequities ( 9 , 50 , 51 ).…”

Section: Conclusion: Toward An Antiracist Microbiome Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Chasing Ghosts: Race, Racism, and the Future of Microbiome Research

et al. 2021

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In this article, we argue that a careful examination of human microbiome science’s relationship with race and racism is necessary to foster equitable social and ecological relations in the field. We point to the origins and evolution of the problematic use of race in microbiome literature by demonstrating the increased usage of race both explicitly and implicitly in and beyond the human microbiome sciences.

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Section: Conclusion: Toward An Antiracist Microbiome Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Chasing Ghosts: Race, Racism, and the Future of Microbiome Research

et al. 2021

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“…Some microbiome studies have specifically collected and compared data from global sites [ 12 , 13 ], but large gaps and disparities still exist in which microbiomes are being studied on a global scale. The human microbiome has been linked to a growing number of social, medical, and economic factors not directly related to host genetics, which reinforces the urgent need to evaluate the microbiomes of many populations [ 11 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public human microbiome data are dominated by highly developed countries

2022

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The importance of sampling from globally representative populations has been well established in human genomics. In human microbiome research, however, we lack a full understanding of the global distribution of sampling in research studies. This information is crucial to better understand global patterns of microbiome-associated diseases and to extend the health benefits of this research to all populations. Here, we analyze the country of origin of all 444,829 human microbiome samples that are available from the world’s 3 largest genomic data repositories, including the Sequence Read Archive (SRA). The samples are from 2,592 studies of 19 body sites, including 220,017 samples of the gut microbiome. We show that more than 71% of samples with a known origin come from Europe, the United States, and Canada, including 46.8% from the US alone, despite the country representing only 4.3% of the global population. We also find that central and southern Asia is the most underrepresented region: Countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh account for more than a quarter of the world population but make up only 1.8% of human microbiome samples. These results demonstrate a critical need to ensure more global representation of participants in microbiome studies.

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“…Dietary choices are often driven by the local food environment, and there is overwhelming evidence that those most susceptible to CRC disparities have inequitable access to high-quality food ( 120 ). Thus, collaborative studies that unite local stakeholders with experts in microbiology, nutrition, and epidemiology in a variety of geographical contexts are needed to investigate links between the local food environment, BA composition, microbial metabolism, and disparities in CRC incidence ( 121 ). If associations are observed among these factors, this may serve as a rationale for the expansion of national programs that reduce barriers to BA-mitigating nutrients like the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative ( 120 ) or localized policies aimed to reduce fast food and convenience store saturation in low SES neighborhoods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%