Relationships of variations in the tongue microbiota and pneumonia mortality in nursing home residents
S Kageyama, T Takeshita, M Furuta… - The Journals of …, 2018 - academic.oup.com
The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2018•academic.oup.com
Background Aspiration of oral debris, containing dense oral bacteria, is a major cause of
pneumonia in elderly adults. This study investigated the relationship between tongue
microbiota composition and incidence of pneumonia-related deaths, in nursing home
residents. Methods The subjects were assessed for health conditions, including their tongue
microbiota, at baseline. We determined tongue microbiota profiles by 16S ribosomal RNA
gene sequencing and clustering approach. All subjects (n= 173) were followed …
pneumonia in elderly adults. This study investigated the relationship between tongue
microbiota composition and incidence of pneumonia-related deaths, in nursing home
residents. Methods The subjects were assessed for health conditions, including their tongue
microbiota, at baseline. We determined tongue microbiota profiles by 16S ribosomal RNA
gene sequencing and clustering approach. All subjects (n= 173) were followed …
Background
Aspiration of oral debris, containing dense oral bacteria, is a major cause of pneumonia in elderly adults. This study investigated the relationship between tongue microbiota composition and incidence of pneumonia-related deaths, in nursing home residents.
Methods
The subjects were assessed for health conditions, including their tongue microbiota, at baseline. We determined tongue microbiota profiles by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and clustering approach. All subjects (n = 173) were followed prospectively for a median of 19 months to assess the incidence of all-cause death, including pneumonia-related death. We evaluated risk estimates of microbiota effects on death using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.
Results
Tongue microbiota were classified into two community types: type I was dominated by Prevotella and Veillonella species, while type II was dominated by Neisseria and Fusobacterium species. The subjects with type I microbiota exhibited a significantly greater risk of all-cause death (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 3.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.38–10.39) and pneumonia-related death (aHR = 13.88, 95% CI = 1.64–117.21), than those with type II microbiota. There was no significant association between microbiota type and other-cause death.
Conclusions
The tongue microbiota type was significantly associated with an increased mortality risk from pneumonia in nursing home residents.
Oxford University Press