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Observational Study
. 2023 Apr;27(4):180-190.
doi: 10.1089/omi.2022.0182. Epub 2023 Mar 22.

Oral Microbiome, Mental Health, and Sleep Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Study in Chinese and Korean American Immigrants

Brianna N Richardson  1   2 , Hye In Noh  1   2 , Caitlin I Webster  1   2 , Wenhui Zhang  1   2 , Sangmi Kim  1   2 , Irene Yang  1   2 , Jinbing Bai  1   2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Oral Microbiome, Mental Health, and Sleep Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Study in Chinese and Korean American Immigrants

Brianna N Richardson et al. OMICS. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

COVID-19 is a systemic disease whose effects are not limited to the respiratory system. The oral microbiome (OM)-brain axis is of growing interest in understanding the broader, neuropsychiatric, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through a systems biology lens. In this context, mental health and sleep disturbance are often reported by Asian Americans. In a cross-sectional observational study design, we examined the associations of the oral microbiome with mental health among Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic (between November 2020 and April 2021). Participants (n = 20) were adult Chinese and Korean American immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia, and primarily born outside the United States (60%) with a mean age of 34.8 years ±14 (standard deviation). Participants reported depressive symptoms, anxiety, and sleep disturbance, as measured by standard questionnaires. The OM was characterized by 16S rRNA V3-V4 gene using saliva. Depressive symptoms and anxiety were reported by 60% (n = 12) of participants, whereas 35% (n = 7) reported sleep disturbance. The α-diversity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and marginally with anxiety. Participants with depressive symptoms and anxiety had enriched Rothia and Scardovia, respectively, whereas those without symptoms had enriched Fusobacterium. Individuals with sleep disturbance had enriched Kingella. In conclusion, this study suggests significant associations of the OM diversity with certain mental health dimensions such as depressive symptoms and anxiety. Specific taxa were associated with these symptoms. The present observations in a modest sample size suggest the possible relevance of the OM-brain axis in studies of mental health during COVID-19.

Keywords: Asian Americans; COVID-19; dentistry; mental health; oral microbiome; sleep outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no conflicting financial interests.

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Differences of the OM from controls and the gut microbiome. OM, oral microbiome.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Oral microbial taxa based on depressive symptoms, anxiety, and sleep disturbance. (A–C) Taxa at the phylum level; (D–F) taxa at the genus level. Blue dash line means the sample separation by depressive symptoms (Yes vs. No), anxiety (Yes vs. No), and sleep disturbance (PSQI >5 vs. PSQI ≤5). PSQI, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
The β-diversity of the OM by depressive symptoms (Yes vs. No). (A) The dissimilarity using Jaccard distance and (B) the dissimilarity using unweighted UniFrac distance.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Taxa abundance of the OM by anxiety (A), depressive symptoms (B), and sleep disturbance (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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