Transfer of Microorganisms Between Green Areas and Humans

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Microbial Colonization
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Visiting a green space

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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 150
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Irina Spacova, Prof.; Phone Number: +32 3 265 32 89; Email: irina.spacova@uantwerpen.be

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Antwerp, Belgium, 2020
    • Recruiting
    • Universiteit Antwerpen
    • Contact: Irina Spacova, Prof.; Phone Number: +32 3 265 32 89; Email: irina.spacova@uantwerpen.be

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

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.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Green space intervention; Participants that visit a green space	Other: Visiting a green space; Participants are asked to visit a green space for a defined time period

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Microbiome changes	Microbiome sequencing will be performed to assess changes in microbial community composition of nasal and skin swabs, focusing on abundances and diversity of different microorganisms and their genes	Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Specific microorganisms within the skin and nasal microbiomes	Specific microorganisms within the participants' microbiomes will be assessed through culturing of swabs and/or quantification via qPCR	Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)
Associations between the human microbiome and environment	Human microbiome composition and diversity (as assessed in outcome "Microbiome changes") will be correlated with the green space environment characteristics, such as the environmental (microbiome) biodiversity	Two time points directly before and after the intervention (on 1 day)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-reported lifestyle	Lifestyle will be assessed using a short questionnaire to understand how it might impact the microbiome (as assessed in outcome "Microbiome changes"), reflecting lifestyle-related parameters such as weekly time spent outdoors (in hours) and frequency of exposure to green environments (e.g., once a year)	One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)
Self-reported health	Self-reported general health will be assessed using a short questionnaire to understand how it might impact the microbiome (as assessed in outcome "Microbiome changes"), reflecting health-related parameters such as a health rating (from very poor to very good)	One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)
Self-reported demographic information	Demographic information will be assessed using a short questionnaire to understand how it might impact the microbiome (as assessed in outcome "Microbiome changes"), reflecting demographic parameters such as age (in years), gender, and parent-child relationship (having one or more children)	One time point directly before or after the intervention (on 1 day)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universiteit Antwerpen
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Irina Spacova, Prof., Universiteit Antwerpen; Principal Investigator: Stijn Verhulst, Prof. dr., Universiteit Antwerpen and University Hospital Antwerp (UZA)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 27, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 7, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 7, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 22, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 24, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 28, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 5, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: microbiome; biodiversity; sequencing; nature; green areas
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Infections; Communicable Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: B3002024000110

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No