Oral microbiome differences by race/ethnicity may contribute to differences in oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the precursor to HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer. Oral HPV is most prevalent among non-Hispanic Black individuals, yet HPV-attributable cancers are more common in non-Hispanic White individuals. Using the 2009–2012 NHANES data (n = 5,534), our study examined oral microbiome diversity, community-, and taxon-level differences by any oral HPV type and race/ethnicity using oral rinse samples. Significantly greater alpha diversity was seen among HPV-positive Non-Hispanic Black individuals [Shannon/Inverse Simpson’s Indices (p 0.4), but this pattern was seen only among Non-Hispanic Black individuals. Taxon-level differential abundance analysis identified Sneathia and Odoribacter as enriched in HPV-positive participants (p < 0.01). These findings suggest a race/ethnicity-linked interplay between oral rinse microbiome samples and oral HPV. Microbial differences by race/ethnicity and oral HPV status may reflect underlying social, environmental, or behavioral factors and highlight the need for longitudinal studies to clarify causal pathways and inform future targeted interventions.
Byrd et al. (Tue,) studied this question.