Prolonged mask wearing changed nasal microbial characterization of young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai, China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Face masks have become a common sight during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in many countries. However, the impact of prolonged face mask wearing on nasal microbiota of healthy people is not fully understood.

Methods

In this study, we compared the nasal microbiota of 82 young adults who wore face masks for an extended period of time to 172 mask-free peers from the same school recruited before the COVID-19 pandemic via 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Diversity, composition, and function of nasal microbiota between the two groups were analyzed. Prevalence of commensal bacteria colonized in the nasal cavity was determined by culture-based analysis.

Results

We observed that prolonged face mask wearers had significantly different nasal micro

SUBMITTER: Xiang G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10614009 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature