Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41617609›Full record

ArticleThorax2026

Airway microbiota in young people across four continents differ by country, asthma status and inflammatory phenotype.

Steven L Taylor, Collin R Brooks, Lucy Pembrey, Sarah K Manning, Levi Elms, Harriet Mpairwe, Camila A Figueiredo, Aida Y Oviedo, Martha Chico, Jeroen Burmanje and 14 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Thorax, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

24 authors.

Steven L TaylorMicrobiome and Host Health Programme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4357-8243
Collin R BrooksResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Lucy PembreyLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK lucy.pembrey@lshtm.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0455-7469
Sarah K ManningMicrobiome and Host Health Programme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Levi ElmsMicrobiome and Host Health Programme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Harriet MpairweMRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Camila A FigueiredoFederal University of Bahia Salvador, Salud, Brazil.
Aida Y OviedoFundación Ecuatoriana Para Investigación en Salud, Quito, Ecuador.
Martha ChicoFundación Ecuatoriana Para Investigación en Salud, Quito, Ecuador.
Jeroen BurmanjeResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Hajar AliResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Irene NambuyaMRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Pius TumwesigeMRC/UVRI and LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Steven RobertsonLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Charlotte E RutterLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9823-7932
Karin van VeldhovenLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Susan M RingPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Mauricio L BarretoFederal University of Bahia Salvador, Salud, Brazil.
Philip J CooperFundación Ecuatoriana Para Investigación en Salud, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6770-6871
Álvaro A CruzMedicine, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Neil PearceLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Geraint B Rogers *Microbiome and Host Health Programme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Jeroen Douwes *Research Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
WASP Study Group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAsthma is an umbrella diagnosis encompassing distinct pathophysiological mechanisms. While a global problem, our understanding of the interplay between respiratory microbiology and airway inflammation is largely from populations in high-income settings. As a result, treatment approaches align poorly with asthma characteristics in less studied populations.

objectiveTo identify conserved and geographically distinct relationships between airway inflammation and microbiota characteristics in young people with and without asthma.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study performing inflammatory phenotyping, microbiota analysis and enumeration of total bacteria,

resultsAsthma inflammatory phenotypes and microbiology differed between countries, with Uganda characterised by higher neutrophils, microbial diversity and bacterial abundance. Comparison of airway inflammation with microbiota characteristics showed conserved relationships across centres, with airway neutrophil proportion explaining variance in microbiota Bray-Curtis dissimilarity (p<0.001) and being positively associated with bacterial abundance, including

conclusionBoth airway inflammation and microbiology varied geographically in young people with asthma. Associations between microbiota characteristics and neutrophilic phenotype were conserved.

Indexed as

AsthmaMicrobiotaAdolescentBrazilChildCross-Sectional StudiesEcuadorFemaleHaemophilus influenzaeHumansInflammationMaleMoraxella catarrhalisNew ZealandPhenotypeSputumAsthmaAsthma EpidemiologyAsthma MechanismsMicrobiota

Identifiers

PMID41617609
PMCPMC13479613

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.