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Risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in Danish middle-aged and elderly twins
P S Andersen1, L A Larsen, V G Fowler
1Microbiology Research and Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark, psa@ssi.dk.
Abstract:
Staphylococcus aureus is a human commensal bacterium found in the nasal cavity and other body sites. Identifying risk factors for S. aureus nasal carriage is of interest, as nasal carriage is a risk factor for subsequent invasive infection. We recently investigated the influence of host genetics on S. aureus carriage in Danish middle-aged and elderly twins, which indicated no significant heritability that could account for the observed S. aureus carriage. In the present study, we performed a questionnaire-based study of S. aureus colonization on the same cohort of 2,196 Danish middle-aged and elderly twins to identify specific risk factors for S. aureus nasal colonization, including analyzing the paired twins (n = 478) that were discordant for S. aureus colonization. We found associations between risk factors and S. aureus nasal colonization among middle-aged and elderly twins, including age, male gender, psoriasis, and atopic diseases. Also, present living on a farm is clearly associated with S. aureus colonization, while smoking had a borderline statistically significant protective effect.
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