Indoor microbial communities: Influence on asthma severity in atopic and nonatopic children

Abstract

Background: Allergic and nonallergic asthma severity in children can be affected by microbial exposures.

Objective: We sought to examine associations between exposures to household microbes and childhood asthma severity stratified by atopic status.

Methods: Participants (n = 196) were selected from a cohort of asthmatic children in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Children were grouped according to asthma severity (mild with no or minimal symptoms and medication or moderate to severe persistent) and atopic status (determined by serum IgE levels). Microbial community structure and concentrations in house dust were determined by using next-generation DNA sequencing and quantitative PCR. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between asthma severity and exposure metrics, including richness, taxa identification and quantification, community composition, and concentration of total fungi and bacteria.

Results: Among all children, increased asthma severity was significantly associated with an increased concentration of summed allergenic fungal species, high total fungal concentrations, and high bacterial richness by using logistic regression in addition to microbial community composition by using the distance comparison t test. Asthma severity in atopic children was associated with fungal community composition (P = .001). By using logistic regression, asthma severity in nonatopic children was associated with total fungal concentration (odds ratio, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.06-5.44). The fungal genus Volutella was associated with increased asthma severity in atopic children (P = .0001, q = 0.04). The yeast genera Kondoa might be protective; Cryptococcus species might also affect asthma severity.

Conclusion: Asthma severity among this cohort of children was associated with microbial exposure, and associations differed based on atopic status.

Keywords: Allergy; DNA sequencing; asthma severity; atopy; bacteria; children; fungi; indoor environment; microbial communities; nonallergic asthma.

Figure 1

Community composition analysis for fungi and bacteria among all children. The bar graphs compare β-diversity within groups (bars) to diversity between groups (solid lines). Bars statistically lower than the solid lines indicate low variation (similarity) in community composition within a group. Error bars and dotted lines represent standard error.

Figure 2

Community composition analysis for fungi and bacteria among the four groups (A, B, C, D) of children in this study. The bar graphs compare β-diversity within groups (bars) to diversity between groups (solid lines). Bars statistically lower than the solid lines indicate low variation (similarity) in community composition within a group (example: A) fungi in house dust from atopic children with severe asthma have similar community composition). Error bars and dotted lines represent standard error.