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Relação entre o estado de saúde física e mental com o microbioma oral e da pele em jovens no Ensino Superior
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O microbioma humano é cada vez mais reconhecido como um regulador central da saúde sistémica e mental, interagindo com dieta, atividade física e stress por vias metabólicas, imunitárias e neurocomportamentais. Estudantes universitários constituem um grupo particularmente vulnerável, frequentemente exposto a stress crónico, rotinas irregulares e hábitos de vida subótimos, o que pode impactar simultaneamente a composição corporal, a saúde mental e os microbiomas oral e cutâneo. Este projeto teve como objetivo caracterizar o perfil de saúde física e mental de estudantes universitários e explorar a sua relação com padrões microbiológicos orais e cutâneos, em vez de se centrar exclusivamente na descrição do microbioma. No total, 55 estudantes preencheram questionários validados para depressão (PHQ-9), ansiedade (GAD-7), atividade física (IPAQ) e adesão à dieta mediterrânea (MEDAS-7), realizaram avaliação de composição corporal por bioimpedância e forneceram amostras orais e cutâneas por zaragatoa para análise microbiológica dependente de cultura. A amostra apresentou, em média, índice de massa corporal na faixa superior da normalidade e uma carga substancial de sintomas depressivos e ansiosos, enquanto a maioria relatou níveis moderados a elevados de atividade física e adesão baixa a moderada à dieta mediterrânea. Estatisticamente, as associações mais consistentes foram observadas entre massa muscular esquelética, ansiedade e atividade física: maior massa muscular correlacionou-se com menores pontuações de ansiedade (r = –0,368; p = 0,027) e com níveis mais elevados de atividade física (r = 0,398; p = 0,016), sustentando o papel da aptidão muscular como correlato relevante de saúde mental em adultos jovens. Em contraste, a adesão à dieta mediterrânea não apresentou correlações significativas com saúde mental ou indicadores antropométricos nesta amostra. Do ponto de vista microbiológico, as amostras orais exibiram cargas bacterianas marcadamente superiores às cutâneas, enquanto os locais de pele apresentaram maior heterogeneidade de morfotipos de colónias; leveduras e fungos filamentosos foram detetados em ambos os nichos. Apenas possíveis géneros bacterianos e fúngicos foram sugeridos com base em morfologia e coloração, a serem confirmados em futuros estudos com sequenciação utilizando o mesmo material biobancado. De forma global, os achados evidenciam pontos de melhoria relacionados a saúde dos estudantes universitários e fornecem evidência preliminar para investigações futuras mais aprofundadas sobre a relação complexa entre o microbioma e o corpo humano.
The human microbiome is increasingly recognized as a key regulator of systemic and mental health, interacting with diet, physical activity and stress through metabolic, immune and neurobehavioral pathways. University students represent a particularly vulnerable group, frequently exposed to chronic stress, irregular routines and suboptimal lifestyle habits, which may simultaneously impact body composition, mental health and the oral and skin microbiomes. This exploratory cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the physical and mental health profile of university students and to explore its relationship with oral and cutaneous microbiological patterns, rather than focusing exclusively on microbiome description. A total of 55 students completed validated questionnaires for depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), physical activity (IPAQ) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MEDAS-7), underwent body composition assessment by bioimpedance and provided oral and skin swab samples for culture-based microbiological analysis. The sample showed, on average, a body mass index within the upper normal range and a substantial burden of depressive and anxiety symptoms, while most participants reported moderate to high physical activity and low to moderate adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Statistically, the most consistent associations were observed between skeletal muscle mass, anxiety and physical activity: higher muscle mass correlated with lower anxiety scores (r = –0.368; p = 0.027) and with higher physical activity levels (r = 0.398; p = 0.016), supporting the role of muscular fitness as a relevant correlate of mental health in young adults. In contrast, Mediterranean diet adherence did not show significant correlations with mental health or anthropometric indicators in this sample. Microbiologically, oral samples presented markedly higher bacterial loads than skin samples, while cutaneous sites exhibited greater heterogeneity of colony morphotypes; yeasts and filamentous fungi were detected in both niches. Only possible bacterial and fungal genera were suggested based on morphology and staining, to be confirmed in future sequencing-based studies using the same biobanked material. Overall, the findings highlight modifiable aspects of the health profile of university students, particularly the combination of relevant mental health symptoms with suboptimal dietary patterns, and provide preliminary evidence and stored samples to support future, more in-depth investigations into the complex relationships between microbiome composition, lifestyle and mental health.
The human microbiome is increasingly recognized as a key regulator of systemic and mental health, interacting with diet, physical activity and stress through metabolic, immune and neurobehavioral pathways. University students represent a particularly vulnerable group, frequently exposed to chronic stress, irregular routines and suboptimal lifestyle habits, which may simultaneously impact body composition, mental health and the oral and skin microbiomes. This exploratory cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the physical and mental health profile of university students and to explore its relationship with oral and cutaneous microbiological patterns, rather than focusing exclusively on microbiome description. A total of 55 students completed validated questionnaires for depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), physical activity (IPAQ) and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MEDAS-7), underwent body composition assessment by bioimpedance and provided oral and skin swab samples for culture-based microbiological analysis. The sample showed, on average, a body mass index within the upper normal range and a substantial burden of depressive and anxiety symptoms, while most participants reported moderate to high physical activity and low to moderate adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Statistically, the most consistent associations were observed between skeletal muscle mass, anxiety and physical activity: higher muscle mass correlated with lower anxiety scores (r = –0.368; p = 0.027) and with higher physical activity levels (r = 0.398; p = 0.016), supporting the role of muscular fitness as a relevant correlate of mental health in young adults. In contrast, Mediterranean diet adherence did not show significant correlations with mental health or anthropometric indicators in this sample. Microbiologically, oral samples presented markedly higher bacterial loads than skin samples, while cutaneous sites exhibited greater heterogeneity of colony morphotypes; yeasts and filamentous fungi were detected in both niches. Only possible bacterial and fungal genera were suggested based on morphology and staining, to be confirmed in future sequencing-based studies using the same biobanked material. Overall, the findings highlight modifiable aspects of the health profile of university students, particularly the combination of relevant mental health symptoms with suboptimal dietary patterns, and provide preliminary evidence and stored samples to support future, more in-depth investigations into the complex relationships between microbiome composition, lifestyle and mental health.
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Palavras-chave
Microbioma da pele Microbioma oral Dieta mediterrânea Inflamação sistêmica Saúde física Saúde mental