Reproductive Medicine Center, ChengDu Fifth People's Hospital, ChengDu, Sichuan, China.
PLoS One. 2023 Nov 16;18(11):e0294436. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294436. eCollection 2023.
Sex hormone-related diseases, encompassing a wide range of conditions from reproductive disorders to certain cancers, pose significant health challenges worldwide. Recent scientific investigations have highlighted the intricate interplay between the gut microbiome and sex hormone regulation, indicating the potential for microbiota-targeted interventions in the management of such diseases. Although individual studies have elucidated the influence of the gut microbiome on sex hormones, a comprehensive cross-sectional examination of the population-wide prevalence of probiotic intake and its correlation with sex hormones is still lacking.
This study aimed to evaluate the association of probiotic ingestion with sex hormones in pre- and post-menopausal women.
We conducted an observational cohort study comprising a nationally representative sample of adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2013 and 2016. Probiotic ingestion was considered when a subject reported yogurt or probiotic supplement consumption during the 24-h dietary recall or during the Dietary Supplement Use 30-Day questionnaire. A survey-weighted generalized linear model was used to analyze the association between probiotic intake and female/male sex hormones. To reduce selection bias, we used propensity score matching (PSM).
This study included 2,699 women, with 537 of them consuming yogurt and/or dietary supplements containing probiotics, while the remaining 2,162 women did not consume any probiotics. The findings indicated that there were associations between probiotic intake and sex hormone levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. For premenopausal women, probiotic intake was positively associated with estradiol (E2) levels. On the contrary, in postmenopausal women, probiotic intake was inversely associated with total testosterone (TT) levels.
This study indicated that probiotic consumption was associated with higher E2 level in premenopausal women and lower TT level in postmenopausal women. Probiotic intake might be a sensible strategy for preventing sex hormone-related diseases.
性荷尔蒙相关疾病涵盖了从生殖障碍到某些癌症等广泛的病症，对全球健康构成了重大挑战。最近的科学研究强调了肠道微生物群与性荷尔蒙调节之间的复杂相互作用，表明可以针对微生物群进行干预，以管理这些疾病。尽管个别研究已经阐明了肠道微生物群对性荷尔蒙的影响，但仍缺乏对益生菌摄入与性荷尔蒙之间的人群相关性的全面横断面研究。
本研究旨在评估绝经前和绝经后妇女益生菌摄入与性荷尔蒙之间的关联。
我们进行了一项观察性队列研究，纳入了 2013 年至 2016 年期间参加国家健康和营养调查的具有全国代表性的成年人样本。当受试者在 24 小时膳食回忆或膳食补充剂使用 30 天问卷中报告酸奶或益生菌补充剂的消费时，我们认为他们摄入了益生菌。使用调查加权广义线性模型分析益生菌摄入与女性/男性性激素之间的关系。为了减少选择偏差，我们使用了倾向评分匹配（PSM）。
本研究纳入了 2699 名女性，其中 537 名女性食用酸奶和/或含有益生菌的膳食补充剂，而其余 2162 名女性没有食用任何益生菌。研究结果表明，益生菌摄入与绝经前和绝经后妇女的性激素水平之间存在关联。对于绝经前妇女，益生菌摄入与雌二醇（E2）水平呈正相关。相反，在绝经后妇女中，益生菌摄入与总睾酮（TT）水平呈负相关。
本研究表明，益生菌摄入与绝经前妇女的 E2 水平升高和绝经后妇女的 TT 水平降低有关。益生菌摄入可能是预防性激素相关疾病的明智策略。
