Smoking, pregnancy and the subgingival microbiome

Area of Science:

• Oral microbiology
• Periodontal health
• Microbiome research

Background:

• The periodontal microbiome is affected by pregnancy and smoking individually.
• The combined effects of smoking and pregnancy on the subgingival microbiome remain unstudied.
• Millions of pregnant women in the US smoke, highlighting the need for this research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the synergistic effects of smoking and pregnancy on the subgingival microbiome.
• To compare the periodontal microbiome composition in non-pregnant non-smokers, non-pregnant smokers, pregnant non-smokers, and pregnant smokers.

Main Methods:

• Collected subgingival plaque from 44 participants across four groups.
• Utilized 16S-pyrotag sequencing for microbial analysis.
• Employed community ordination, co-occurrence networks, and non-parametric tests for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant clustering of the microbiome based on pregnancy and smoking status was observed.
• Pregnant women showed increased levels of gram-positive/negative facultatives and decreased gram-negative anaerobes compared to smokers.
• Distinctive species co-occurrence patterns and unique network anchors were identified for each group.

Conclusions:

• Pregnancy and smoking induce unique alterations in the periodontal microbiome.
• The combined impact of these factors on the subgingival microbiome is synergistic, exceeding the sum of individual effects.
• Further research is needed to understand the persistence of these microbiome changes after environmental disruption cessation.