Investigation of the impact of commonly used medications on the oral microbiome of individuals living without major chronic conditions

Abstract

Background Commonly used medications produce changes in the gut microbiota, however, the impact of these medications on the composition of the oral microbiota is understudied. Methods Saliva samples were obtained from 846 females and 368 males aged 35–69 years from a Canadian population cohort, the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH). Samples were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and differences in microbial community compositions between nonusers, single-, and multi-drug users as well as the 3 most commonly used medications (thyroid hormones, statins, and proton pump inhibitors (PPI)) were examined. Results Twenty-six percent of participants were taking 1 medication and 21% were reported taking 2 or more medications. Alpha diversity indices of Shannon diversity, Evenness, Richness, and Faith’s phylogenetic diversity were similar among groups, likewise beta diversity as measured by Bray-Curtis dissimilarity (R2 = 0.0029, P = 0.053) and weighted UniFrac distances (R2 = 0.0028, P = 0.161) were non-significant although close to our alpha value threshold (P = 0.05). After controlling for covariates (sex, age, BMI), six genera (Saprospiraceae uncultured, Bacillus, Johnsonella, Actinobacillus, Stenotrophomonas, and Mycoplasma) were significantly different from non-medication users. Thyroid hormones, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) and PPI were the most reported medications. Shannon diversity differed significantly among those taking no medication and those taking only thyroid hormones, however, there were no significant difference in other measures of alpha- or beta diversity with single thyroid hormone, statin, or PPI use. Compared to participants taking no medications, the relative abundance of eight genera differed significantly in participants taking thyroid hormones, six genera differed in participants taking statins, and no significant differences were observed with participants taking PPI. Conclusion The results from this study show negligible effect of commonly used medications on microbial diversity and small differences in the relative abundance of specific taxa, suggesting a minimal influence of commonly used medication on the salivary microbiome of individuals living without major chronic conditions.

Oral microbial signatures associated with age and frailty in Canadian adults

“…Further analysis in these studies demonstrated that in addition to age, the following covariates contributed significantly to microbial variation: dentate, tobacco use, active caries, periodontal status and, gender/sex, whereas BMI and medication used failed to show a significant association with variation. Similarly, our team has previously shown minimal variation due to medication use within the Atlantic PATH cohort 38 , and only small associations between BMI and select beta diversity measures 28 . Tobacco use (Table 1 ) was very rare (3%) in the current cohort and included in the adjusted models.…”

“…This is a large population cohort (age 30–74 years) in the Atlantic region of Canada which includes detailed questionnaire data, biological samples, and clinical measures 34 , 35 . A portion of participants also have FI data 36 and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data from saliva samples 28 , 37 , 38 .…”

Oral microbial signatures associated with age and frailty in Canadian adults

“…Further analysis in these studies demonstrated that in addition to age, the following covariates contributed signi cantly to microbial variation: dentate, tobacco use, active caries, periodontal status and, gender/sex, whereas BMI and medication used failed to show a signi cant association with variation. Similarly, our team has previously shown minimal variation due to medication use within the Atlantic PATH cohort 41 , and only small associations between BMI and select beta diversity measures 28 . Tobacco use (Table 1) was very rare (3%) in the current cohort and included in the adjusted models.…”

Salivary Microbiota and Host-Inflammatory Responses in Periodontitis Affected Individuals With and Without Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…In addition, drugs used by the patients in order to control the different diseases may also influence the microbial composition and the diagnosis of periodontal disease, although research on medication use on the oral microbiome is limited. Thus, DeClercq and colleagues recently reported negligible effects of commonly used medications on microbial diversity and small differences in the relative abundance of specific taxa, suggesting minimal effect of commonly used medication on the salivary microbiome ( DeClercq et al., 2021 ).…”