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Updated: May 29, 2025

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Published on: October 15, 2019
Potential effects of indoor microbiome characteristics on health: A systematic review
Xue Jin1, Jing Wang1, Yujie Du1
1Anhui Medical University, School of Public Health, (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics), Center for Big Data and Population Health of IHM, Hefei, Anhui, China; Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Inflammatory and Immune Diseases, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Objectives:
This systematic review aims to assess the potential effects of exposure to microbial agents in the indoor environment on health outcomes.
Study Design:
Systematic review.
Methods:
A systematic literature search was conducted on Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science through January 2024, and reference lists of relevant articles were reviewed. Studies that investigated the relationship between indoor microbial agents and human symptoms and diseases were eligible for inclusion.
Results:
In total, 20 articles were considered eligible for inclusion and reported consistency and variability in the health effects of indoor microorganisms. In microbial diversity analyses, studies showed an increasing trend in microbial α-diversity in patients with allergic and inflammatory diseases and a decreasing trend in fungal α-diversity in patients with behavioral and cognitive disorders. In microbial composition analyses, phylum Cyanobacteria, genus Izhakiella, genus Rhodomicrobiu, species Aeromonas enteropelogenes, and species Brasilonema bromeliae showed a decreasing trend in allergic and inflammatory diseases, while phylum Actinomycetota, phylum Bacillota, phylum Bacteriodota, class Gammaproteobacteria and species Deinococcus gobiensis showed an increasing trend. There were fewer consistent results for respiratory infectious diseases and behavioral and cognitive disorders.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of the association between indoor microbial exposure and human health risk. In this systematic review, we explored the potential impact of microbiota characterization of indoor environments on different diseases or symptoms from the perspective of microbial taxonomic levels through a comprehensive review of differential analysis of indoor microbiota diversity and composition, which provided potential intervention strategies for the management of the indoor microbiome.
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