ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Microbial Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1585718
This article is part of the Research TopicTransmission dynamics and population genomics of superbug pathogens of public health importanceView all 6 articles
Associations between total protein, globulin, and nasal Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization in US adults: results from the national health and nutrition examination survey 2001-2004
Provisionally accepted
- 1Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- 2Tianjin Institutes of Health Science, Tianjin, China
- 3Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- 4Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, China., Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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There is limited evidence on the association between total serum protein (TP), serum globulin (GLB), and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal colonization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between TP, GLB, and MRSA nasal colonization in US adults with data derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).Using NHANES 2001-2004 data, we employed propensity score matching (PSM) to control confounders, weighted logistic regression to evaluate associations of TP and GLB with MRSA colonization, restricted cubic splines (RCS) for non-linear analysis, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses for validation.Among 7,585 adults, 1.31% (n = 99) had MRSA nasal colonization. Adjusted multivariable regression identified TP and GLB as independent protective factors (TP: OR=0.92, 95%CI 0.88-0.96; GLB: OR=0.91, 95%CI 0.86-0.97; p< 0.05 for all). Categorizing TP and GLB into quartiles (Q4 vs. Q1) reinforced this association (TP: OR=0.21, 95%CI 0.07-0.59; GLB: OR=0.28, 95%CI 0.12-0.67; p< 0.05 for all) with consistent results post-PSM. Restricted cubic splines confirmed dose-dependent negative correlations. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of these findings.There was a negative correlation between TP, GLB, and MRSA nasal colonization in participants aged 18 years or older. Our data support the protective role of TP and GLB in MRSA colonization, and the specific mechanisms of these biomarkers in MRSA colonization and their clinical implications require further investigation.
Keywords: MRSA colonization, Total protein, globulin, PSM, NHANES
Received: 01 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Feng, Liu, Fan, Zhang, Wang and Feng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hui Wang, Department of Hematology, The Affiliated Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University, Yantai, China., Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
Sizhou Feng, Graduate School, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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