A Tale of Two Microbiomes: Biodiversity of the Urinary Microbiome in Females of Different Age Groups

Abstract

The composition of the urinary microbiome has been associated with urinary pathologies like UTIs, overactive bladder, and bladder cancer. While patient age is hypothesized to impact the composition and diversity of the urinary microbiome, such a relationship has yet to be quantified. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of age-related changes in the biodiversity and composition of the urinary microbiome in females with and without Chlamydia trachomatis infection. I hypothesized that the diversity of the urinary microbiome would tend to increase with a patient’s age, as past research on the vaginal microbiome suggests that the vaginal microbiome diversity increases with age. Using QIIME 2 and R, data from Gaspari et al.’s 2022 study on urinary microbiome diversity were filtered, alpha and beta diversity metrics were analyzed, and taxonomic composition was analyzed. Regression analysis revealed a non-significant non-linear relationship between age and microbial diversity metrics. Individuals under 30 years old and those over 30 years old did not show significant differences in Faith PD, Shannon Entropy, or Evenness. Finally, CT infection status did not significantly influence microbial diversity, although individuals tended to have higher diversity. Analysis of microbial composition showed no significant differences between age groups. These results suggest a potential non-linear relationship between age and urinary microbiome diversity, although future studies with larger sample sizes and more samples from women older than 30 will be necessary to confidently quantify such a relationship.