Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represents a global public health concern, affecting about 1 in 20 individuals. The symptoms of PTSD include intrusiveness (involuntary nightmares or flashbacks), avoidance of traumatic memories, negative alterations in cognition and mood (such as negative beliefs about oneself or social detachment), increased arousal and reactivity with irritable reckless behavior, concentration problems, and sleep disturbances. PTSD is also highly comorbid with anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. To advance the field from subjective, self-reported psychological measurements to objective molecular biomarkers while considering environmental influences, we examined a unique cohort of Israeli veterans who participated in the 1982 Lebanon war. Non-invasive oral 16S RNA sequencing was correlated with psychological phenotyping. Thus, a microbiota signature (i.e., decreased levels of the bacteria sp_HMT_914, 332 and 871 and Noxia) was correlated with PTSD severity, as exemplified by intrusiveness, arousal, and reactivity, as well as additional psychopathological symptoms, including anxiety, hostility, memory difficulties, and idiopathic pain. In contrast, education duration correlated with significantly increased levels of sp_HMT_871 and decreased levels of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and presented an inverted correlation with adverse psychopathological measures. Air pollution was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms, psychopathological symptoms, and microbiota composition. Arousal and reactivity symptoms were correlated with reductions in transaldolase, an enzyme controlling a major cellular energy pathway, that potentially accelerates aging. In conclusion, the newly discovered bacterial signature, whether an outcome or a consequence of PTSD, could allow for objective soldier deployment and stratification according to decreases in sp_HMT_914, 332, 871, and Noxia levels, coupled with increases in Bacteroidetes levels. These findings also raise the possibility of microbiota pathway-related non-intrusive treatments for PTSD.

创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 代表全球公共卫生问题，影响大约二十分之一的人。PTSD 的症状包括侵入性（不由自主的噩梦或倒叙）、避免创伤性记忆、认知和情绪的负面改变（例如对自己的负面信念或社会疏离）、觉醒和反应性增加以及易怒鲁莽行为、注意力不集中和睡眠干扰。PTSD 还与焦虑、抑郁和药物滥用高度共病。为了在考虑环境影响的同时将该领域从主观的、自我报告的心理测量推进到客观的分子生物标志物，我们检查了一组独特的参加 1982 年黎巴嫩战争的以色列退伍军人。非侵入性口腔 16S RNA 测序与心理表型相关。因此，微生物群特征（即细菌水平降低sp_HMT_914、332 和 871以及Noxia）与 PTSD 严重程度相关，例如侵入性、觉醒和反应性，以及其他精神病理学症状，包括焦虑、敌意、记忆困难和特发性疼痛。相比之下，受教育时间与sp_HMT_871水平显着升高以及拟杆菌和厚壁菌门水平降低相关, 并与不良的精神病理学措施呈倒相关。空气污染与 PTSD 症状、精神病理学症状和微生物群组成呈正相关。觉醒和反应性症状与转醛酶减少有关，转醛酶是一种控制主要细胞能量通路的酶，可能会加速衰老。总之，新发现的细菌特征，无论是 PTSD 的结果还是后果，都可以根据sp_HMT_914、332、871和Noxia水平的降低，以及拟杆菌水平的增加，进行客观的士兵部署和分层。这些发现也提高了对 PTSD 进行微生物群通路相关非侵入性治疗的可能性。