Classroom microbiome signatures of pest management associate with reduced asthma symptoms.
Minsik Kim, Ching-Ying Huang, Ye Sun et al.
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In 30 seconds
This ancillary study of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial examined whether school-based integrated pest management (IPM) altered classroom microbiomes and whether intervention-associated microbial signatures related to asthma morbidity. Dust from 208 classrooms in 41 schools was analyzed alongside prospective follow-up of 236 children with active, physician-diagnosed asthma. IPM changed bacterial and phage community structure and increased microbial diversity. Its classroom microbiome signature was associated with lower odds of any asthma symptom days in the past 2 weeks (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.22, 0.97; P = .043), independent of mouse allergen levels and student characteristics.
Key findings
- IPM significantly altered classroom bacterial and phage community structure and increased bacterial, archaeal, and fungal diversity.
- The IPM-associated microbiome signature was associated with lower odds of any asthma symptom days in the past 2 weeks (odds ratio = 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.22, 0.97; P = .043).
- The signature was associated with a lower Composite Asthma Severity Index (β = -0.92; 95% confidence interval, -1.51, -0.33; P = .002), adjusting for mouse allergen levels and student characteristics.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that classroom microbial changes may be relevant to asthma morbidity beyond reductions in mouse allergen exposure. They broaden the potential pathways through which school environmental interventions could relate to symptoms, while highlighting the value of studying microbial communities alongside conventional allergen measures.
What to keep in mind
The microbiome and morbidity analyses were ancillary; associations between the identified microbial signature and asthma outcomes do not establish that microbiome changes caused the lower morbidity.