ArticleJournal of oral microbiology2025
Polypharmacy, anticholinergic burden and oral microbiome among U.S. middle-aged and older adults: a representative national survey.
Article in Journal of oral microbiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations Between Multimorbidity, Polypharmacy and Oral Conditions in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Gerodontology · 2026Pooled it
- Exploring the oral microbiome diversity and genus signatures associated with a novel non-invasive metabolic indicator: a cross-sectional study.The Saudi dental journal · 2026Article
- Chain mediation effects of depressive symptoms and nutritional risk between social support and oral frailty in patients with coronary heart disease.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Polypharmacy has been linked to alterations in gut microbiota, but its effects on the oral microbiome remain underexplored. This study aimed to examine the association of polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden with oral microbiome diversity and composition. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from NHANES 2009-2012, including participants aged 55-69 years who reported at least one prescription medication. Polypharmacy was defined as the concurrent use of five or more medications. Anticholinergic burden was quantified by the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale and the Anticholinergic Drug Scale. Oral microbiome profiling comprised alpha diversity, beta diversity, and taxonomic composition at multiple phylogenetic levels. Associations were analyzed via weighted multivariable linear regression, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and multivariate analysis of variance. Results: Among 1,596 participants, 29.2% reported polypharmacy, which correlated with higher anticholinergic burden. Both polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden were inversely associated with alpha diversity across multiple measures. Taxonomic analyses showed heterogeneous associations, with Conclusions: Among middle-aged and older U.S. adults, both polypharmacy and anticholinergic burden were inversely associated with oral microbiome diversity and linked to distinct microbiome composition.
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Registered trials
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