The scientists from the University of Tartu have established the Estonian Microbiome cohort as part of the Estonian Biobank. The cohort includes a stool, oral and plasma samples from 2,509 participants. Using electronic health data from these biobank participants, they found long-term antibiotic usage, independent from recent administration, has an impact on the microbiome, partly explaining the common bacterial signatures overlapping between diseases.
The microbiome can have a major impact on public health, including in the identification of microbiome–drug interactions that are responsible for dose effectiveness and adverse events, management of chronic diseases, and maintenance of one’s health. Currently, there are only a few extensive population-based metagenomic cohorts available for studying these microbiome effects on health.
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