Saliva microbiota differs between children with low and high sedentary screen times

This study examined whether the diversity, composition and functional capacity of the saliva microbiota differed between children with low and high sedentary screen times. We analyzed the saliva microbiota using 16S rRNA (V3–V4) sequencing from 193 children with low and 183 children with high TV/screen viewing times while sitting. Microbiota diversity was higher among children with low screen times compared to children with high screen times. Furthermore, microbiota composition differed between the screen time groups. In addition, we identified ten differentially abundant taxonomic groups, including Veillonella, Prevotella and Streptococcus, and five differentially present metabolic pathways between the screen time groups. Children with high screen times exhibited a higher capacity to synthesize the fatigue- and activity-related amino acids ornithine and arginine. To conclude, children with high sedentary screen (sitting) times exhibited a lower diversity and a different composition and functionality of the microbiota compared to children with low screen times.