Authors: Laura McGrogan, A1., Margaret McLafferty, B2., Elaine K. Murray, A1.,

Affiliations: Personalised Medicine Centre, School of Medicine, Ulster University, C-TRIC Building, Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Glenshane Road, Derry/Londonderry, BT47 6SB. Atlantic Technological University, Donegal, Ireland

Background/ Introduction: Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and stress significantly affect students’ academic performance and overall university experience. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly prevalent in student populations and is frequently associated with comorbid mental health conditions, affecting up to 80% of individuals. While the gut microbiome has been implicated in ADHD and mental health disorders, the oral microbiome remains underexplored. This study aims to characterise mental health burden and explore oral microbiome profiles in students with and without ADHD.

Material & Methods: Wellbeing survey data were analysed to assess the prevalence of mental health outcomes in students with ADHD. In parallel, oral microbial DNA is extracted using the DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen), and the V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene amplified using universal primers (341F/806R) for sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Bioinformatic analysis is conducted in QIIME2 for alpha and beta diversity metrics and differential abundance analysis (ANCOM-BC).

Results: Irish Student Wellbeing and ADHD Project (I-SWAP) wellbeing survey data indicate a high burden of depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours, and low self-esteem among students with ADHD. Oral microbiome differences between individuals with ADHD and those without, and their association with mental health difficulties, will also be presented.

Conclusion: This study aims to integrate mental health profiling with oral microbiome analysis to identify potential microbial biomarkers associated with ADHD and related mental health outcomes.