Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41142132›Full record

ArticleiScience2025

Oral and gut microbiota relate to symptom subphenotypes in long COVID, independent of viral persistence.

Georgios D Kitsios, Kelvin Li, Shawna Blacka, Adam Fitch, Jana Jacobs, Asma Naqvi, Biying Zhang, Heather Gentry, Cathy Murray, Xiaohong Wang and 9 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Georgios D KitsiosDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Kelvin LiDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Shawna BlackaDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Adam FitchDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Jana JacobsDivision of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Asma NaqviDivision of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Biying ZhangDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Heather GentryDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Cathy MurrayDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Xiaohong WangDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Asha PatelDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Laura PuzniakPfizer, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Abby RudolphPfizer, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
Feng DaiPfizer, Inc., New York, NY, USA.
John MellorsDivision of Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Frank SciurbaDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Barbara MetheDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Seyed Mehdi NouraieDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Alison MorrisDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Long COVID presents a significant public health challenge, complicating diagnosis and treatment. In a prospective study of 349 individuals with long COVID (March 2021-December 2023), latent class analysis identified three symptom subphenotypes: high constitutional symptom burden (21%), predominant smell/taste disturbances (17%), and minimal persisting symptoms (62%). While viral persistence in saliva and stool was limited, 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed microbiota associations with symptomatology. Alpha diversity was lower in individuals with high symptom burden, and specific taxa correlated with nausea and smell/taste disturbances. Distinct oral and gut microbiota patterns emerged across symptom clusters, with microbiota profiles also linked to patient-reported outcomes, including employment and overall health impact. These findings suggest that bacterial dysbiosis may contribute to long COVID symptom variability and highlight the microbiome's potential role in its pathophysiology. Understanding microbial influences on symptom persistence may inform microbiome-targeted therapeutic strategies and improve long COVID management.

Indexed as

microbiomeoral microbiologyviral microbiology

Identifiers

PMID41142132
PMCPMC12552144

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.