Oral microbiome and obstructive sleep apnea

: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea is responsible for a decrease in oxygen saturation and an increase in carbon dioxide. Patients diagnosed with this condition are mostly mouth breathers. These factors may be responsible for changes in their oral microbiome. Objective: To assess the available scientific evidence on possible changes in the oral microbiome (identified by molecular methods) of patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. Materials and Methods: This systematic review used Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane databases to identify relevant articles. Two independent authors selected the studies. Data extraction was carried out using the PRISMA method, answering the PICO question “In patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, compared to patients without the same diagnosis, what changes occur in the oral microbiome?”. Results: Ten articles were selected, seven on the adult population and three on the pediatric population. Six studies used swabs from different areas of the oral cavity and 4 studies used saliva as microbial sample. In general, differences were found between the oral microbiome of patients with obstructive sleep apnea and healthy individuals, however, these differences were not always significant. Conclusion: Given the limited existing literature, it is not possible to definitively conclude on the impact of obstructive sleep apnea on the oral microbiome. However, the conditions favored by these patients seem to favor the growth of anaerobic and periodontopathogen bacteria.

Date of Award	19 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria José Correia (Supervisor), Susana Falardo (Co-Supervisor) & Pedro Lopes (Co-Supervisor)