Quantification of Human Microbiome Stability Over 6 Months: Implications for Epidemiologic Studies.

ABSTRACT: Temporal variation in microbiome measurements can reduce statistical power in research studies. Quantification of this variation is essential for designing studies of chronic disease. We analyzed 16S ribosomal RNA profiles in paired biological specimens separated by 6 months from 3 studies conducted during 1985-2013 (a National Cancer Institute colorectal cancer study, a Costa Rica study, and the Human Microbiome Project). We evaluated temporal stability by calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Sample sizes needed in order to detect microbiome differences between equal numbers of cases and controls for a nested case-control design were calculated on the basis of estimated ICCs. Across body sites, 12 phylum-level ICCs were greater than 0.5. Similarly, 11 alpha-diversity IC

SUBMITTER: Sinha R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5982812 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature