Zhen-Hua Lu1, Yi-Wen Liu2, Zhao-Hua Ji1, Ting Fu1, Min Yan1, Zhong-Jun Shao3, Yong Long4. 1. Department of Epidemiology, Ministry of Education Key Lab of Hazard Assessment and Control in Special Operational Environment, School of Public Health, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, People's Republic of China. 2. Wuwei Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuwei City, Gansu Province, People's Republic of China. 3. Department of Epidemiology, Ministry of Education Key Lab of Hazard Assessment and Control in Special Operational Environment, School of Public Health, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, People's Republic of China. 13759981783@163.com. 4. Department of Epidemiology, Ministry of Education Key Lab of Hazard Assessment and Control in Special Operational Environment, School of Public Health, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, People's Republic of China. longyong@fmmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Working in an underground tunnel environment is unavoidable in professions such as miners and tunnel workers, and there is a concern about the health of these workers. Few studies have addressed alterations in the intestinal microbiome of workers within that environment. RESULTS: Fecal samples were collected from the workers before they entered the tunnel (baseline status, BS) and after they left the tunnel (exposed status, ES), respectively (a time period of 3 weeks between them). We analyzed 16S rRNA sequencing to show the changes in microbial composition and self-evaluation of mental health questionnaire was also performed. The results showed that Shannon and Simpson indices decreased significantly from BS to ES. A higher abundance was found in the phylum Actinobacteria, classes Actinobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria, orders Bifidobacteriales, Coriobacteriales, and Desulfovibrionales, families Bifidobacteriaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Coriobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae_1, Desulfovibrionaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Microbacteriaceae, and genera Bifidobacterium, Romboutsia, Clostridium sensu stricto, and Leucobacter in ES, while BS showed greater levels of genera Faecalibacterium and Roseburia. The self-evaluation showed that at least one-half of the tunnel workers experienced one or more symptoms of mental distress (inattention, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, headache or dizziness, irritability) after working in the underground tunnel environment. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the underground tunnel environment led to alterations in the intestinal microbiome, which might be relevant to symptoms of mental distress in underground-tunnel workers.
BACKGROUND: Working in an underground tunnel environment is unavoidable in professions such as miners and tunnel workers, and there is a concern about the health of these workers. Few studies have addressed alterations in the intestinal microbiome of workers within that environment. RESULTS: Fecal samples were collected from the workers before they entered the tunnel (baseline status, BS) and after they left the tunnel (exposed status, ES), respectively (a time period of 3 weeks between them). We analyzed 16S rRNA sequencing to show the changes in microbial composition and self-evaluation of mental health questionnaire was also performed. The results showed that Shannon and Simpson indices decreased significantly from BS to ES. A higher abundance was found in the phylum Actinobacteria, classes Actinobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria, orders Bifidobacteriales, Coriobacteriales, and Desulfovibrionales, families Bifidobacteriaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Coriobacteriaceae, Clostridiaceae_1, Desulfovibrionaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Microbacteriaceae, and genera Bifidobacterium, Romboutsia, Clostridium sensu stricto, and Leucobacter in ES, while BS showed greater levels of genera Faecalibacterium and Roseburia. The self-evaluation showed that at least one-half of the tunnel workers experienced one or more symptoms of mental distress (inattention, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, headache or dizziness, irritability) after working in the underground tunnel environment. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the underground tunnel environment led to alterations in the intestinal microbiome, which might be relevant to symptoms of mental distress in underground-tunnel workers.
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