Fujian Provincial Hospital, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Department of Nursing, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China.
J Clin Periodontol. 2024 Aug;51(8):1066-1080. doi: 10.1111/jcpe.13997. Epub 2024 May 20.
To examine association between subgingival microbial signatures and levels of cognitive impairment in older adults.
We analysed subgingival plaque samples and 16S ribosomal RNA sequences for microbiota among 165 participants (normal controls [NCs]: 40, subjective cognitive decline [SCD]: 40, mild cognitive impairment [MCI]: 49 and dementia: 36).
The bacterial richness was lower among individuals with worse cognitive function, and subgingival microbial communities differed significantly among the four groups. Declining cognitive function was associated with decreasing relative abundance of genera Capnocytophaga, Saccharibacteria_genera_incertae_sedis, Lautropia and Granulicatella, and increasing abundance of genus Porphyromonas. Moreover, there were differentially abundant genera among the groups. Random forest model based on subgingival microbiota could distinguish between cognitive impairment and NC (AUC = 0.933, 95% confidence interval 0.873-0.992). Significant correlations were observed between oral microbiota and sex, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score and Mini-Mental State Examination score. Partial correlation analysis showed that Leptotrichia and Burkholderia were closely negatively associated with the MoCA score after adjusting for multiple covariates. Gene function was not significantly different between SCD and NC groups, whereas three homozygous genes were altered in MCI patients and two in dementia patients.
This is the first study to demonstrate an association between the composition, function and metabolic pathways of subgingival microbiota and different levels of cognitive function among older individuals. Future cohort studies should assess its diagnostic usefulness for cognitive impairment.
研究老年人牙周微生物特征与认知障碍程度之间的关系。
我们分析了 165 名参与者（正常对照组[NC]：40 人，主观认知下降[SCD]：40 人，轻度认知障碍[MCI]：49 人，痴呆症：36 人）的龈下菌斑样本和 16S 核糖体 RNA 序列的微生物群。
认知功能较差的个体中细菌丰富度较低，且牙周微生物群落在四组间存在显著差异。认知功能下降与属 Capnocytophaga、Saccharibacteria_genera_incertae_sedis、Lautropia 和 Granulicatella 的相对丰度降低以及属 Porphyromonas 的丰度增加有关。此外，各组之间存在差异丰富的属。基于龈下微生物群的随机森林模型可区分认知障碍与 NC（AUC=0.933，95%置信区间 0.873-0.992）。口腔微生物群与性别、蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）评分和简易精神状态检查评分之间存在显著相关性。偏相关分析显示，在调整了多个协变量后，Leptotrichia 和 Burkholderia 与 MoCA 评分呈密切负相关。SCD 与 NC 组之间基因功能无显著差异，而 MCI 患者有三个纯合基因改变，痴呆症患者有两个基因改变。
这是第一项研究表明牙周微生物组成、功能和代谢途径与老年人不同认知功能水平之间存在关联。未来的队列研究应评估其对认知障碍的诊断有用性。
