Abstract Introduction Emerging research has increasingly linked the microbiome-gut-brain axis to the pathophysiology of mental health disorders such as depression. Sleep has been linked to both depression and the oral microbiome (OM). Given these interconnections, it is plausible sleep health moderates the association between depressive symptoms and OM diversity. This study, therefore, examines whether sleep health (e.g., duration, quality, disorders) moderates the association between depressive symptom severity and OM diversity. This approach enables a nuanced understanding of how such behavioral health factors as sleep might condition the association between depression and biological systems like the OM. Methods Data were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2012), focusing on emerging adults (ages 18-26 years) who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We categorized self-reported sleep duration as very short, short, healthy, or long, following AASM guidelines. Participants indicated whether they had received diagnoses of sleep disorders or reported trouble sleeping. OM richness observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the genus level; Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity (FPD) or richness and evenness Shannon-Wiener diversity (SWD); inverse Simpson index (ISI) were characterized using several alpha diversity indices. We used Generalized Linear Models to examine interactions between PHQ-9 depression scores (range:0-27) and sleep health variables in relation to microbial diversity. Results Among the 1,168 participants (mean age: 22 years), 51% were females. Moderation analysis revealed interactions between PHQ-9 scores and sleep duration categories for SWD (F3,15) =11.77; p 0.001; OTU (F3,15) = 4.94; p=0.027; and ISI (F3,15)=3.88; p=0.031). Among participants reporting very short or short sleep durations, higher PHQ-9 scores were associated with lower OM richness and evenness. Specifically, insufficient sleep appears to exacerbate the negative link between depressive symptoms and microbial diversity, while adequate sleep may buffer against this association. Reported sleep disorders and troubles sleeping did not moderate the associations. Conclusion Among emerging adults, the direction and strength of the association between depressive symptoms and oral microbiome diversity depend on sleep duration. These findings are consistent with studies suggesting the OM may be influenced by sleep health. Future research needs to investigate the potential role of circadian rhythms in these associations. Support (if any) P20GM139743 (PI: Carskadon)
Narcisse et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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