Associations between gut microbiome and 24-hour blood pressure variability: a cross-sectional study highlighting sex differences and potential therapeutic targets
Abstract
Blood pressure (BP) variability is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). While gut microbiota (GM) and GM-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are recognized to play a key role in BP regulation, their association with BP variability remains poorly understood. This cross-sectional study of 241 community-dwelling individuals from Hong Kong (113 men and 128 women, mean age 54±6 years) without symptomatic CVD examined the associations of GM, characterized by shotgun sequencing, and plasma SCFAs, with systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) variability assessed by 24-hour BP monitoring. GM analyses, using covariate-adjusted statistical models, revealed that higher 24-hour SBP CoV associated negatively with GM α-diversity (Shannon and Simpson’s index, P<0.05) and positively with Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, driven by the female cohort. Parabacteroides merdae, Bacteroides dorei, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Alistipes finegoldii and Bacteroides intestinalis were negatively associated with indices of SBP/DBP variability in a sex-specific manner. Further analysis indicated that B. dorei may mediate SBP CoV via plasma iso-butyric acid in women (bootstrapping 95% CI: −3.6 to −0.19; P<0.05). We demonstrated that higher SBP variability is associated with markers of gut dysbiosis and a reduction in beneficial gut bacteria, particularly in women. Notably, we identified several gut bacterial species with potential therapeutic implications for…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cross-sectional, done in people. Its evidence level is 4 of 5 (Low · observational). Observational designs can show an association but not prove cause. Reported size: 128 participants or records.
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