Following the Indian Immigrant: adoption of westernization results in a western gut microbiome and an increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

Indians who migrate to westernized countries such as Canada, the United States (US), and the United Kingdom (UK) are at an increased risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the underlying etiology of IBD remains unclear, a gut microbiome that is no longer symbiotic with its host is a major player. Increasing IBD incidence in Indian immigrants may be due to the adoption of western practices that result in loss of tolerance of a symbiotic community in the gut and its underlying immune responses. However, little is known about the microbial changes in the Indian gut, including shifts in the microbiome when they migrate to westernized countries. In this Current Opinion, we discuss what is known about the Indian gut microbiome and how living in a westernized environment may be impeding what was once a symbiotic relationship with their gut microbiome and intestinal mucosae, which may be the driving factor in their increased risk of IBD.

The intersection of social determinants of health, the microbiome, and health outcomes in immigrants: A scoping review

“…The shift in microbiome profile was associated with a shift in health risk, particularly in cardiometabolic, immune, mental, and inflammatory disorders and antibiotic resistance. Increased exposure to Westernization/urbanization may impede what was once a symbiotic relationship with the microbiome, ultimately increasing immigrants' risk of developing immune‐mediated, noncommunicable chronic diseases such as asthma as well as other chronic diseases possibly related to microbial exposures (D'Aloisio et al, 2022). The extent of many of these microbiome‐related health risks is dependent on immigrant's age at the time of migration and time spent in the destination country, with the increase in risk being highest in those migrating in early childhood when the core microbiome is being assembled (Rinninella et al, 2019).…”