On Friday 27 June at 14:00, Christine Cramer defends her PhD dissertation entitled "The Airborne and Oral Microbiome in Relation to Allergy, Asthma and Chronic Rhinosinusitis".

A new PhD project from Aarhus University explores the possible connection between airborne indoor microbiome, oral microbiome and respiratory health.

Previous studies have found that exposure to bacteria (the microbiome) is associated with allergy and respiratory diseases, but most research has focused on children. In her PhD project, Christine Wulff Cramer investigated the relationship between the airborne and oral microbiome and allergy, asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in adults across several countries.

The study included microbiome data from bedroom dust samples of over 1000 adults in Northern Europe and oral samples from 335 participants in Norway, Estonia, and Australia.

The results showed no consistent link between microbial diversity and current disease, but high levels of bacteria and bacterial components (endotoxins) in the indoor environment were associated with asthma and CRS. High microbial diversity was associated with more respiratory symptoms after 10 years, and high diversity in the oral microbiome was related to non-allergic CRS and reduced lung function.

Several bacterial genera and functional genes were more common in people without respiratory disease, suggesting that the composition of the microbiome may play a protective role.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in Samfundsmedicinsk Auditorium (1262-101), Aarhus University. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Christine Cramer
Mail: chcrch@ph.au.dk
Phone: (+45) 22159235

Read full press release