DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, Visseringlaan 25, 2288, ER, Rijswijk, The Netherlands.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, The Netherlands.
Respir Res. 2020 Jul 14;21(1):181. doi: 10.1186/s12931-020-01443-8.
The elderly (≥65 years) are one of the populations most at risk for respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The aim of this study was to determine whether nasal and/or oropharyngeal microbiota profiles are associated with age and RTIs.
Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs of 152 controls and 152 patients with an RTI were included. The latter group consisted of 72 patients with an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and 80 with a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Both nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were subjected to microbiota profiling using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Moraxella species were determined using quantitative real-time PCR and culture.
Based on the microbiota profiles of the controls and the patients with an RTI, eight nasal and nine oropharyngeal microbiota clusters were defined. Nasal microbiota dominated by either Moraxella catarrhalis or Moraxella nonliquefaciens was significantly more prevalent in elderly compared to mid-aged adults in the control group (p = 0.002). Dominance by M. catarrhalis/nonliquefaciens was significantly less prevalent in elderly with an LRTI (p = 0.001) compared to controls with similar age.
Nasal microbiota dominated by M. catarrhalis/nonliquefaciens is associated with respiratory health in the elderly population.
老年人（≥65 岁）是呼吸道感染（RTI）风险最高的人群之一。本研究旨在确定鼻腔和/或口咽微生物群与年龄和 RTI 的关系。
纳入了 152 名对照者和 152 名 RTI 患者的鼻腔和口咽拭子。后者包括 72 名上呼吸道感染（URTI）患者和 80 名下呼吸道感染（LRTI）患者。使用 16S rRNA 基因扩增子测序对鼻腔和口咽拭子进行微生物群谱分析。使用定量实时 PCR 和培养法测定莫拉氏菌属的种类。
基于对照组和 RTI 患者的微生物群谱，定义了 8 个鼻腔和 9 个口咽微生物群簇。在对照组中，与中年成年人相比，鼻腔微生物群以卡他莫拉菌或非液化莫拉菌为主的老年人更为普遍（p=0.002）。与年龄相似的对照组相比，老年 LRTI 患者中卡他莫拉菌/非液化莫拉菌的优势明显减少（p=0.001）。
鼻腔中以卡他莫拉菌/非液化莫拉菌为主的微生物群与老年人群的呼吸健康有关。
