Imagine packing up your life, moving halfway across the world, and discovering that not only your address changes, but so does the very ecosystem inside your gut. It sounds like science fiction, but new research suggests that for migrants, this isn’t just a possibility – it’s a profound reality with significant health implications. A groundbreaking study out of Amsterdam UMC reveals that individuals migrating from West Africa to Europe experience a “clear change” in the microscopic communities living within their intestines. Even more startling? This shift is linked to a higher risk of serious health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even kidney problems.
Scientists have understood for years that where you live and what you eat profoundly influence your gut microbiome – the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that call your digestive system home. These tiny residents play a colossal role in everything from how you digest food to how your immune system functions. This new research provides strong evidence that the very act of migration fundamentally alters this crucial internal landscape. It’s a hidden biological transformation with real-world health consequences, directly influencing risks for conditions like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and kidney problems, as highlighted by the researchers.
Tracking the Gut’s Journey: The Study Explained
To understand this dramatic internal shift, researchers embarked on an ambitious project known as the RODAM-Pros cohort study. This comprehensive investigation involved 1,177 Ghanaian participants across three distinct environments: rural Ghana, urban Ghana, and first-generation Ghanaian migrants residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The participants, mostly women (64.9%) and averaging about 53.5 years old, provided a unique opportunity to track changes in gut health along a “migration axis.”
Researchers meticulously collected data between 2019 and 2021. Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their lifestyles, underwent physical examinations, and provided blood and stool samples. To get a clear picture of their diets, scientists used a specific “Food Propensity Questionnaire” and conducted 24-hour dietary recalls for a subset. The heart of the gut analysis involved a technique called 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This highly sophisticated genetic fingerprinting method allowed scientists to identify and quantify the different types of bacteria present in each stool sample, painting a detailed picture of each individual’s gut microbial community.
Once all the data was gathered, a powerful analytical tool entered the scene: XGBoost machine learning. This is a sophisticated computer algorithm that can sift through vast amounts of complex data to identify patterns and make predictions. It’s particularly adept at handling the unique complexities of microbiome data. By using these advanced computational methods, the researchers could pinpoint which specific microbes were changing and how these changes correlated with different locations and health markers.
Unpacking the Microbiome’s Transformation
The findings were striking, painting a clear picture of microbial transformation. The study observed a “clear gradient in gut microbiota composition” as individuals moved from rural Ghana to urban Ghana and then to Amsterdam.
In rural Ghana, where diets are often rich in fiber and traditional foods, the participants’ guts were bustling with a type of bacteria called Prevotellaceae. These microbes are commonly associated with diets high in plant matter. Rural Ghanaians also exhibited the highest “alpha diversity,” a scientific term for the sheer variety of different microbial species living within a single gut.
However, as Ghanaians moved towards urban settings and especially to Amsterdam, this vibrant microbial community began to shift. The diversity decreased, and different bacteria started to dominate. In Amsterdam, the guts of Ghanaian migrants showed a greater abundance of Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidaceae. The variety of microbes (alpha diversity) was at its lowest among Amsterdam Ghanaians.
One particularly notable change involved a microbe called Weisella spp. This bacterium was commonly found in both rural and urban Ghanaians, but it was “virtually absent” in the Amsterdam group. Conversely, while many Prevotella species decreased with migration, one, Prevotella stercorea, actually became more abundant in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, bacteria like Enterobacteriaceae, which includes common gut inhabitants like Escherichia-Shigella spp., became less prevalent along the migration path.
Diet, Microbes, and Chronic Disease Risk
Diet appears to be a major player in these microbial shifts. The study found significant differences in what people ate across the three locations. Urban and Amsterdam Ghanaians, for instance, consumed more protein, salt, and fat compared to their rural counterparts. These dietary changes were strongly associated with the changes observed in the gut microbiome. This finding suggests that the Westernized diet, often characterized by higher intake of these macronutrients, could be directly influencing which microbes thrive and which diminish.
And this isn’t just an academic curiosity about tiny organisms. The changes in the gut microbiome were directly linked to real-world health outcomes. Participants living in Amsterdam had higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors compared to those in rural Ghana. This included higher Body Mass Index (BMI), higher HbA1c (a key marker for diabetes), and elevated diastolic blood pressure. The difference in BMI alone was substantial, with Amsterdam Ghanaians having almost 6 kg/m² higher BMI than rural Ghanaians. The researchers explicitly state that “groups of microbes that emerged or disappeared along the migration axis were associated with cardiometabolic outcomes.” It appears, therefore, that the loss of certain “good” microbes and the gain of others could be directly contributing to the increased risk of diseases like obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.
While the study meticulously controlled for various factors like age, sex, and existing health conditions, it’s crucial to remember that this is an observational study. It identifies strong associations, but it cannot definitively prove that the microbiome shift causes the increased disease risk. Many factors contribute to health, and migration involves numerous changes beyond just diet and microbes, such as stress, access to healthcare, and socioeconomic factors. However, the consistent patterns observed point strongly towards the gut microbiome playing a significant, previously underappreciated, role in migration-related health disparities.
The research highlights a fascinating and somewhat unsettling truth: where you live, and the lifestyle that comes with it, can profoundly rewire your internal biology. For migrants, this re-wiring of their gut microbiome appears to contribute to the increased burden of chronic diseases. Understanding these invisible, microscopic shifts is a critical step towards developing targeted interventions, perhaps through dietary adjustments or even microbiome-based therapies, to mitigate the health challenges faced by those who journey across continents in search of a new life.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The RODAM-Pros cohort study, conducted between 2019 and 2021, involved 1,177 Ghanaian participants across rural Ghana, urban Ghana, and Amsterdam. Data included questionnaires, physical exams, blood, and stool samples. Dietary assessment used a Food Propensity Questionnaire and 24-hour recalls. Gut microbiota was analyzed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Data analysis employed XGBoost machine learning, linear regression, ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and chi-square tests.
Results
A clear gradient in gut microbiota composition was observed from rural to urban Ghana to Amsterdam. Rural Ghanaians had the highest microbial diversity, dominated by Prevotellaceae spp. Amsterdam Ghanaians showed lower diversity and more Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidaceae spp. Specific shifts included Weisella spp. becoming “virtually absent” in Amsterdam, and Prevotella stercorea increasing. Dietary changes, particularly higher protein, salt, and fat intake in urban/Amsterdam groups, correlated with these shifts. These microbial changes were linked to higher cardiometabolic risk factors in Amsterdam Ghanaians, including increased BMI, HbA1c, and diastolic blood pressure.
Limitations
This was an observational study, which identifies associations but cannot prove causation. Dietary data from the semi-quantitative questionnaire lacked portion sizes for some items. Microbial identification was limited in precision, with species-level assignment for only 12% of taxa. Other factors related to migration (e.g., stress, healthcare access) were acknowledged but not extensively explored as direct confounders.
Funding and Disclosures
The provided source material does not contain explicit information about the funding sources for this study or specific author disclosures.
Publication Information
Title: Gut microbiota shift in Ghanaian individuals along the migration axis: the RODAM-Pros cohort Authors: Barbara J. H. Verhaar et al. (full list: Barbara J. H. Verhaar, Eva L. van der Linden, Charles F. Hayfron-Benjamin, Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Samuel N. Darko, Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah, Peter Henneman, Erik Beune, Karlijn A.C. Meeks, Max Nieuwdorp, Hilde Herrema, Bert-Jan H. van den Born & Charles Agyemang) Journal: Gut Microbes Volume/Issue: 17:1 Article Number: 2471960 DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2471960 Published online: April 06, 2025