Relationship between the subgingival microbiome and menopausal hormone therapy use: The Buffalo OsteoPerio study

Abstract

Background This study investigated the association between menopausal hormone therapy (HT) use and the subgingival microbiome, for which published information is limited. Methods This cross‐sectional study included 1270 postmenopausal women, aged 53–81 years, who completed clinical examinations. Detailed information on HT use (type, delivery mode, duration) was obtained from questionnaires. HT use was categorized into three groups (never, former, current). 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on subgingival plaque samples obtained during dental examinations. Operational taxonomic units were centered log2‐ratio (CLR) transformed to account for the compositional data structure. Analysis of variance was used to compare mean microbial relative abundances across HT categories with Benjamini‐Hochberg correction. Results Significantly higher alpha diversity (Shannon Index) and beta diversity (Aitchison distance) was observed in never compared with current HT users (p < 0.05, each). Of the total 245 microbial taxa identified, 18 taxa differed significantly among the three HT groups, 11 of which were higher in current users and seven of which were lower in current users as compared with never users (p < 0.05, each). Differences in relative abundance between never and current HT users were materially unchanged after adjustment for age, body mass index, and oral hygiene. Conclusions Relative abundance of several subgingival bacteria differed significantly between never and current HT users in a cohort of postmenopausal women. Additional studies are needed to determine the extent that these relationships might account for the previously reported inverse association between HT use and periodontal disease in older women.

Breast cancer but not the menopausal status is associated with small changes of the gut microbiota

“…( 47 ) reported that the abundance of Synergistetes was significantly higher in the postmenopausal osteopenia group than in the control group, and Soliman et al. ( 48 ) showed that bacterial OUTs (operational taxonomic units) belonging to the phylum Synergistetes were higher in women who did not receive hormone replacement therapy during menopause. However, the differences in relative taxa levels between pre- and postmenopausal controls or BC patients were weak in our study.…”