Study Objectives:

Although the airway mucosal system plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the underlying disease mechanism remains unclear. The microbiome greatly impacts human health and disease, particularly in the mucosa, where it can have direct interactions. In this study, we aimed to analyze the microbiome composition in the upper airway mucosa of individuals with and without OSA to identify potential disease severity-related microbial signatures.

Methods:

This population-based cohort study involved 92 participants (mean age = 62.7 ± 5.8 years, male-to-female ratio = 0.74) who underwent a physical examination and sleep study. Upper airway swab samples were collected from the nasopharyngeal mucosa to evaluate the microbiome based on 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. The relationship between microbiome composition and sleep parameters was explored through bioinformatics analysis.

Results:

The average apnea–hypopnea index was 7.75 ± 6.5. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria were the predominant phyla in the nasopharyngeal microbiota in all participants. Simpson diversity indexes were higher in patients with OSA (0.6435 ± 0.2827) than in the non-OSA controls (0.6095 ± 0.2683); however, the difference was not significant (P = .1155). Specific anaerobes negatively correlated with the lowest oxygen saturation level during sleep (SPU(1) = -117.47; P = .0052).

Conclusions:

The upper airway microbiome of older patients with mild-moderate OSA exhibited minor differences in composition compared with that of individuals without OSA, possibly owing to environmental changes in the upper airway mucosa resulting from recurrent airway obstruction and intermittent hypoxia in patients with OSA.

中文翻译：

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阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停严重程度与上呼吸道微生物组组成的关联

学习目标：

尽管气道黏膜系统在阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停 (OSA) 的发病机制中起关键作用，但其潜在的疾病机制仍不清楚。微生物组极大地影响人类健康和疾病，特别是在粘膜中，它可以在那里直接相互作用。在这项研究中，我们旨在分析患有和不患有 OSA 的个体上呼吸道粘膜中的微生物组成，以确定潜在的疾病严重程度相关的微生物特征。

方法：

这项基于人群的队列研究涉及 92 名接受体检和睡眠研究的参与者（平均年龄 = 62.7 ± 5.8 岁，男女比例 = 0.74）。从鼻咽粘膜收集上呼吸道拭子样本，以基于 16S rRNA 基因焦磷酸测序评估微生物组。通过生物信息学分析探索微生物组组成与睡眠参数之间的关系。

结果：

平均呼吸暂停低通气指数为 7.75 ± 6.5。Proteobacteria、Firmicutes和Actinobacteria是所有参与者鼻咽微生物群中的主要门。OSA 患者的辛普森多样性指数 (0.6435 ± 0.2827) 高于非 OSA 对照组 (0.6095 ± 0.2683)；然而，差异并不显着（P = .1155）。特定厌氧菌与睡眠期间的最低氧饱和度呈负相关（SPU(1) = -117.47；P = .0052）。

结论：

轻度至中度 OSA 老年患者的上呼吸道微生物组与非 OSA 患者相比，其上呼吸道微生物组的组成存在细微差异，这可能是由于 OSA 患者反复气道阻塞和间歇性缺氧导致上呼吸道黏膜的环境变化。