Long-term diet quality is associated with gut microbiome diversity and composition among urban Chinese adults

Abstract

Background Few population-based studies have evaluated the influence of long-term diet on the gut microbiome, and data among Asian populations are lacking. Objective We examined the association of long-term diet quality, comprising 8 food groups (fruit, vegetables, dairy, fish/seafood, nuts/legumes, refined grains, red meat, and processed meat), with gut microbiome among Chinese adults. Methods Included were 1920 men and women, enrolled in 2 prospective cohorts (baseline 1996–2006), who remained free of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer at stool collection (2015–2018) and had no diarrhea or antibiotic use in the last 7 d before stool collection. Microbiome was profiled by 16S rRNA sequencing. Long-term diet was assessed by repeated surveys at baseline and follow-ups (1996–2011), with intervals of 5.2 to 20.5 y between dietary surveys and stool collection. Associations of dietary variables with microbiome diversity and composition were evaluated by linear or negative binomial hurdle models, adjusting for potential confounders. False discovery rate (FDR) <0.1 was considered significant. Results The mean ± SD age at stool collection was 68 ± 1.5 y. Diet quality was positively associated with microbiome α-diversity (P = 0.03) and abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, and genera/species within these phyla, including Coprococcus, Faecalibacterium/Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Bifidobacterium / Bifidobacterium adolescentis, and order RF39 (all FDRs <0.1). Significant associations were also observed for intakes of dairy, fish/seafood, nuts/legumes, refined grains, and processed meat, including a positive association of dairy with Bifidobacterium and inverse associations of processed meat with Roseburia /Roseburia faecis. Most associations were similar, with or without adjustment for BMI and hypertension status or excluding participants with antibiotic use in the past 6 mo. Conclusion Among apparently healthy Chinese adults, long-term diet quality is positively associated with fecal microbiome diversity and abundance of fiber-fermenting bacteria, although magnitudes are generally small. Future studies are needed to examine if these bacteria may mediate or modify diet–disease relations.

Sex-Specific Associations between Gut Microbiome and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease among Urban Chinese Adults

“…We observed a reduced Phascolarctobacterium abundance among male NAFLD cases but an increased abundance among female NAFLD cases. Among rare taxa that showed sex-dependent associations with NAFLD, order RF39 has been positively associated with healthy diets [16,52] and negatively associated with BMI, blood triglycerides, and frailty among older adults [52][53][54][55][56], suggesting its potential health benefits.…”

“…Stool sample collections were carried out in both cohort studies between 2015 and 2018 (the 5th visit of the SWHS and the 3rd visit of the SMHS). Stool samples were collected from a total of 10,655 participants (5526 women and 5129 men) using the 95% ethanol method, as described in detail in our previous publication [16]. At the time of stool collection, participants were also asked for the date and time of stool collection, antibiotic and medication uses in the past 7 days and 6 months, and whether they had diarrhea in the last 7 days.…”

“…As described previously, we obtained 16S rRNA sequencing data from 3194 participants after quality control procedures [16]. Among them, 2358 participants had information on NAFLD history and abdominal ultrasound.…”

Microbiota’s Role in Diet-Driven Alterations in Food Intake: Satiety, Energy Balance, and Reward

“…Dairy is positively associated with the family Bifidocacteraceae and genus Bifidobacterium ; seafood with families Alcaligenaceae and Desulfovibrionaceae ; and nuts and legumes with the phyla Proteobacteria. Inverse associations are found with processed meat and the family Lachnospiraceae , while it was positively associated with Fusobacteriaceae and Acinetobacter under Proteobacteria [ 60 ].…”

NEMoE: A nutrition aware regularized mixture of experts model addressing diet-cohort heterogeneity of gut microbiota in Parkinson’s disease

“…The gut microbiome is known to change throughout our lives as a result of various environmental influences. Diet, being one of these factors, has the greatest known long-term interaction with the gut microbiome 8 . Thus, a deep understanding of the relationship between diet and the gut microbiome and the consequential impact on disease processes, holds promise for developing personalised dietary intervention strategies to modulate and maintain a healthy microbiome population 9,10 .…”