Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA.
Am J Epidemiol. 2013 Feb 1;177(3):197-201. doi: 10.1093/aje/kws449. Epub 2013 Jan 7.
The structure and function of microorganisms that live in and on us, the human microbiota, are a tremendous resource. Microbiota may help to explain individual variability in health outcomes and be a source of new biomarkers for environmental exposures and of novel prognostic and diagnostic indicators. The increase in availability of low-cost, high-throughput techniques makes it relatively straightforward to include microbiota assessments in epidemiologic studies. With the recent joint publications of the findings of the Human Microbiome Consortium and related studies, the consequent surge of interest in microbiome research, and remarkable media attention, the time is ripe for epidemiologists to contribute their expertise to and translate results of microbiota research for population health.
生活在我们人体内部和表面的微生物（即人体微生物组）的结构和功能是一个巨大的资源。微生物组可能有助于解释健康结果个体差异，并为环境暴露和新型预后及诊断指标提供新的生物标志物。由于成本低廉、高通量技术的广泛应用，将微生物组评估纳入流行病学研究相对简单。随着人类微生物组协会及相关研究结果的联合发表，微生物组研究的兴趣激增，以及媒体的广泛关注，现在正是流行病学家贡献专业知识并将微生物组研究成果转化为人群健康的绝佳时机。
