Mental research concentrated on wealthy, industrial nations, study finds 

Expanding microbiome gut brain research across Latin America, Africa, Asia and other underrepresented regions is not only an issue of equity, it is crucial if scientists are to uncover universal biological principles which can improve mental health worldwide. File picture

A new study led by researchers at University College Cork has found one of the biggest obstacles facing microbiome and mental health research is not a lack of technology or data, but a lack of global diversity in the people being studied.

Published in Nature Mental Health and led by Chilean bioinformatician Benjamin Valderrama and neuroscientist Professor John F Cryan, the paper argues that studies in the area of mental health have become overwhelmingly concentrated on wealthy, industrialised nations, therefore limiting scientific discovery.

The authors argue that expanding microbiome gut brain research across Latin America, Africa, Asia and other underrepresented regions is not only an issue of equity, it is crucial if scientists are to uncover universal biological principles which can improve mental health worldwide.

One of the central ideas of the publication is that many countries in the Global South provide unique opportunities to understand how environment shapes mental health.

Rapid urbanisation, changing food systems, environmental transitions and socioeconomic gradients often exist within relatively small geographical regions, creating what the authors describe as "natural experiments" that cannot easily be reproduced in laboratories.

Dr Valderrama said: "We often think about diversity in research as an ethical issue. Our argument is that it is also a scientific necessity. If we only study one part of the world, we risk misunderstanding how the microbiome shapes brain health."

The authors hope the study will encourage funders, policymakers and researchers to build more equitable international partnerships and to recognise that understanding the biology of mental health requires studying the full diversity of human populations.