Clinical trial NCT06574724: Transfer of Microorganisms Between Green Areas and Humans
Official title: Transfer of Microorganisms Between Green Areas and Humans
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Microbial Colonization
Keywords: green areas
nature
microbiome
biodiversity
sequencing
Lead sponsor: Universiteit Antwerpen
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-08-28
Enrollment: 150
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 4
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: The goal of this study is to understand how visiting green areas affects the human microbiome through microbial transfer. Additionally, the project aims to understand which environmental, health and lifestyle factors can influence these microbiome changes. Participants will visit a green area, provide microbiome samples before and after the visit, and complete questionnaires related to environmental, health, lifestyle and demographic factors.

Detailed description: Several hypotheses propose that the modern surge in immune disorders is related to diminished contact with nature. Specifically, the Biodiversity hypothesis emphasizes that contact with natural environments enriches the human microbiome and is necessary for promoting immune balance. This project aims to investigate whether visiting green areas can contribute to changes in human microbiome composition. Additionally, the investigators aim to explore the environmental, health and lifestyle factors that can influence these microbiome changes. Adults and/or children will be asked to visit a green space (such as an urban park) and perform specific activities (such as walking or pushing a stroller) for a defined time period. Before and after this visit, swabs of their skin and nose will be collected to analyze microbiome changes. In addition, questionnaires will be administered to the participants, with the goal to align microbiome changes with environmental, health, lifestyle and demographic factors.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria:

Children (min. 4 years old) and adult participants (18+) of any gender in generally good health.

No strict exclusion criteria will be set in advance.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Microbiome changes
timeFrame: Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Specific microorganisms within the skin and nasal microbiomes
timeFrame: Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)
measure: Associations between the human microbiome and environment
timeFrame: Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)
Other outcomes:
measure: Self-reported lifestyle
timeFrame: One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)
measure: Self-reported health
timeFrame: One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)
measure: Self-reported demographic information
timeFrame: One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)
Locations:
city: Antwerp
country: Belgium
facility: Universiteit Antwerpen
Study officials:
affiliation: Universiteit Antwerpen
name: Irina Spacova, Prof.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Universiteit Antwerpen and University Hospital Antwerp (UZA)
name: Stijn Verhulst, Prof. dr.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: