Caracterização do microbioma oral e perfil inflamatório de pacientes com patologia gastrintestinal do Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu

: um estudo comparativo

Abstract

The oral health and microbiome of individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are less diverse and may be out of balance compared to healthy individuals. This study aims to characterize the oral health of patients with IBD, allowing the establishment of a personalized oral health care protocol. Due to the influence of the microbiome in IBD, this work also aims to characterize and correlate the oral microbiome of IBD patients with oral and systemic health. Finally, as an inflammatory process, the salivary inflammatory profile of IBD patients was also characterized and correlated with oral and systemic health. This cross-sectional observational study was based on 3 data collection strategies: sociodemographic characteristics, oral health behaviors and daily habits, as well systemic health aspects were assessed trough a questionnaire; an intraoral examination for dental and periodontal condition assessment; and the collection of saliva and biofilm samples from IBD patients who attend the Gastroenterology service at Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu. 129 patients were evaluated, in which 65.9% with Crohn's Disease and 34.1% with Ulcerative Colitis. 83.7% of participants suffer from periodontal disease and 35.7% and 82.2% of the participants had at least one decayed and missing tooth, respectively. It was possible to verify that the oral cavity of IBD patients has increased abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla, which include pathogenic bacteria strongly associated with IBD. It was also possible to verify that the salivary inflammatory profile of patients with IBD is different from patients without IBD with and without periodontal disease. This study had generated new insights on IBD, opening new perspectives for future works with the aim to develop adequate therapeutic protocols for each patient, towards a precision and personalized medicine.

Date of Award	25 Jul 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nélio Jorge Veiga (Supervisor), Ana Peixoto Gomes (Co-Supervisor), Paula Ministro (Co-Supervisor) & Maria José Correia (Co-Supervisor)