Abstract: Objective To explore the adverse living habits and pharyngeal flora characteristics of patients with chronic pharyngitis in Beijing, and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of chronic pharyngitis. Methods Patients with chronic pharyngitis who participated in a health examination at the physical examination center between January 2020 and December 2021 in a hospital in Beijing were selected as the study group, and those who participated in the same period of health examination but excluded chronic pharyngitis were selected as the control group. The living habits of the two groups were surveyed by questionnaire, and samples of posterior pharyngeal wall secretions were collected for pharyngeal flora testing. The adverse living habits and the characteristics of the pharyngeal flora of the two groups were analyzed by descriptive analysis, and the factors influencing the development of chronic pharyngitis were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results A total of 3 012 patients with chronic pharyngitis （study group） were included in this study, including 1 705 males and 1 307 females, with an average age of （34.56±10.23） years. There were 3 012 healthy subjects （control group）, including 1 684 males and 1 328 females, with an average age of （34.11±9.82） years. There were statistically significant differences in preference for spicy food, fried food, cold food, smoking, drinking, sleeping late, and exercise between the two groups （P<0.05 or P<0.01）. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that spicy food （OR=1.865）, fried food （OR=2.065）, cold food （OR=1.702）, smoking （OR=1.914）, drinking （OR=2.156）, and sleeping late （OR=1.788） were independent factors for the induction of chronic pharyngitis. The numbers of α- Hemolytic streptococcus, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the study group were higher than that in the control group （P<0.05 or P<0.01）, while the numbers of Moraxella catarrhalis, Klebsiella ozaenae, and Corynebacterium diphtheriae were lower than that in the control group （P<0.05 or P<0.01）. Conclusions Adverse living habits will further induce chronic pharyngitis. Pharyngeal flora imbalance in such patients is mainly caused by the increase of α- Hemolytic streptococcus content. It is suggested that lifestyle intervention should be carried out by adjusting diet structure or taking drugs in order to reduce the risk of chronic pharyngitis.

Key words: Chronic pharyngitis, Distribution of pharyngeal flora, Adverse living habits, Influencing factor