Research Show Married Couples Can Spread Depression & Anxiety By Kissing

Did you know that you could get depression and anxiety from your partner through mouth bacteria? Did we stump you? Well, a new study found that depression and anxiety can spread between partners if they kiss – a healthy spouse could show mental health symptoms after just six months of marriage to a depressed partner. Each time you kiss, share food, or simply breathe near your spouse, you exchange millions of bacteria – the new research shows that this microbial sharing may also contribute to the transmission of mental health conditions. A 2025 study of newlywed couples in Iran – published in Exploratory Research and Hypothesis in Medicine – found that when a partner suffers from depression and anxiety, they could potentially change their healthy partner’s oral bacteria, leading to a shift in the healthy partner’s mood and sleep patterns.

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The research, led by independent researcher Reza Rastmanesh, tracked 1,740 couples married for an average of six months, comparing 268 healthy spouses with 268 partners who had depression, anxiety, and sleep problems. They took standardised mental health tests, provided saliva samples to measure stress hormones, and had their mouth bacteria analysed using advanced DNA sequencing techniques. At the start of the six months, the healthy spouses scored normally on depression, anxiety, and sleep quality tests. However, after living with a partner with mental health issues, their scores were significantly higher. Their mouth bacteria resembled that of their depressed and anxious partners.

Source: Hindustan Times