Association Between Gut and Metabolic Syndrome is Dose-Dependent and Affected by Microbial Interactions: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE

is among the most abundant bacterial species in the human intestine; however, its relationship to metabolic syndrome (MetS)-which is linked to gut dysbiosis-is not known. In this study, we investigated the association between abundance and risk of MetS and its components, as well as dose-response effects and the influence of microbial interactions on the association.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 6896 Chinese participants aged 18 to 97 years from the Guangdong Gut Microbiome Project. MetS was defined according to Joint Committee for Developing Chinese Guidelines on Prevention and Treatment of Dyslipidemia in Adults criteria. The abundance of was assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Logistic regression analysis with adjustment for common confounders was performed to evaluate the association between and MetS and its components. Models with restricted cubic splines and interaction terms were used to examine the dose-response association and microbial interactions, respectively.

RESULTS

The prevalence of MetS was 20.4%, and the median abundance of was 0.08% (interquartile range: 0.04-0.93%). Increased abundance was associated with decreased risk of MetS ( <0.05), but this effect was not observed until the level was 0.2% of the total gut microbiota abundance (odds ratio=0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.94-0.98). Of the 5 MetS components, obesity and hypertriglyceridemia showed the strongest association with , followed by reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Microbial interaction analyses showed that Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae were the predominant bacterial families and were not only correlated with abundance but also influenced the -MetS association.

CONCLUSION

There is a dose-response association between reduced risk of MetS and increased abundance of . The association between and 5 MetS components is variable and affected by microbial interactions.