A few non-infectious diseases that are influenced by microorganisms include cancer, asthma, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Although not all of these are directly caused by microorganisms, they can each be influenced by microorganisms. Viruses can be a risk factor for cancer because of the effect they can have on a cell’s DNA if infected. In Asthma, microorganisms that exists naturally in the respiratory tract may have an effect on symptoms, although I’m not sure what those exact effects would be. Alzheimer’s is not caused by a specific microorganism, but I have read that sometimes certain diseases can trigger the onset of Alzheimer’s. Finally, MS is a highly studied disease that recently has been shown to influence the gut microbiome. Overall, I don’t know much about non-infectious diseases related to microorganisms, but it seems logical that with all of the various microbes in our body, many non-infectious diseases would be influenced by them even if the relationship is not ’cause and effect’.
