Depression will affect up to 25 per cent of Canadians during there lifetimes. There are different hypotheses that try to explain why depression rate seems to be increasing from sociological factors to improved detection and diagnoses and one’s environment.

When we talk about the person’s environment, we tend to think of life stresses, traumatic life events and family dynamics among the myriad factors that can be put into this basket.

What seems to have been overlooked is the natural environment and our focus on cleanliness. A study by neuroscientists at Bristol University published in this month’s edition of the journal Neuroscience, outlines a possible link between exposure to a specific strain of bacteria and feelings of well-being.

• Dr. Chris Lowry, neuroscientist with Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology at Bristol University