2026 · Pharmacology research & perspectives · open access
Gut Microbial Variations Associated With Proton Pump Inhibitor Use in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study
Dinesh et al.
The finding, in our words
Analysis of self-collected stool samples from 309 participants demonstrated that proton pump inhibitor use is significantly associated with an enrichment of Streptococcus species in the gut. This confirms the suitability of decentralised self-sampling for conducting large-scale metagenomic analyses in population studies.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
The study demonstrated the feasibility of a fully decentralised design by successfully recruiting 37 participants and completing follow-up for self-collected stool samples without requiring on-site visits.
Feles & Mattner, JMIR research protocols · source ↗
This pilot study found that mailing self-collection kits to endometrial cancer survivors was feasible and acceptable, whilst also observing that chemotherapy or radiation reduced beneficial vaginal bacteria compared to surgery alone.
Taxonomic and diversity profiles differed between unstabilised swabs and stabilised OmniGene kits, with transport time disproportionately affecting swab samples; the collection method had a greater impact on taxa and diversity than transport time, highlighting the need for standardised stool collection in decentralised microbiome studies.
In a one-week virtual home clinic with 134 participants, 86 per cent returned saliva and 84 per cent returned stool, and most components were feasible and acceptable despite device and logistical challenges. This supports decentralised, patient-centric self-collection of non-blood biospecimens for research.
Self-collected oral and stool samples revealed distinct microbiome compositions in patients with endometriosis compared to controls, with Fusobacterium enrichment specifically observed in oral samples from moderate to severe cases. These results support the feasibility of decentralised self-collection for non-invasive biomarker screening in reproductive health.
Hicks et al., BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · source ↗