Aim: To investigate whether the mode of delivery influences the oral yeast colonization in young adults.
Introduction: The human microbiome is a complex ecosystem that varies considerably across the body and between individuals.1 Postnatally the child is exposed to microorganisms from maternal and environmental sources and influenced by infant feeding, developing its own microbiome that will continue evolving throughout life.2 Several studies have been carried out to determine the influence of the mode of delivery on the oral microbiome, and some influence on bacterial colonization has been verified.3,4 However, the influence on oral fungal colonization is still unknown.
Methods: In 200 healthy students from the Faculty of Dentistry of University of Porto, colonization by yeast in the oral cavity was evaluated by collecting unstimulated saliva. Yeast isolation was performed by pour-plaque technique using Sabouraud Agar medium supplemented with chloramphenicol and ChromAgar Candida medium for species identification. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test and t-test for independent samples.
Results: Participants' mean age was 21.61±1.86 years old, with a total yeast prevalence of 37.5%. Candida albicans was the most isolated species present in 76.5% of the colonized participants. In comparison to caesarean section, the participants born by normal delivery presented higher oral yeast prevalence (41.6% vs. 25.8%, p=0.035) and higher oral yeast load (13.68±38.02 vs. 1.69±0.62LogCFU/mL, p=0.030).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that delivery mode influences the oral mycobiome throughout life, specifically, normal delivery appears to promote the oral yeast colonization.
References
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