Today, UCLA Health reports on a recent study – published by UCLA Brain and Body Lab (BABLab) researchers – that found that youths who experienced caregiving adversity (mistreated or in foster care) had less diversity and more disease-causing bacteria in their oral microbiome, compared to youths who lived with their biological families. Not only did the composition of their oral microbes differ from the comparison group, their microbes also seemed less responsive to stress, suggesting that high stress levels could alter the oral microbiome.

The lead author of the publication is psychology Ph.D. student Naomi Gancz and the senior author is Dr. Bridget Callaghan, an assistant professor of psychology and director of the BABLab.

Read UCLA Health’s news release here.