Abstract P115: Association Of Circulating And Fecal Butyrate And Other Short Chain Fatty Acids With Blood Pressure And Hypertension: Results From The SPIRIT Trial

Abstract

Background: Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the microbially-derived end products of dietary fiber fermentation. The SCFA butyrate is a signaling molecule shown to influence blood pressure (BP) in mouse models. The association of butyrate and other SCFAs on BP in humans is unclear, due in part to predominantly cross-sectional analyses and to differences in which biospecimens (blood vs. fecal) SCFAs were measured. Longitudinal studies including both circulating and fecal SCFAs are lacking. Objective: Investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of fecal and serum SCFAs with hypertension and changes in BP. Methods: We leveraged existing data from the SPIRIT trial, which randomized 121 adult cancer survivors with overweight/obesity to a behavioral weight loss intervention, metformin, or self-directed weight loss. Of participants with serum and fecal SCFAs measured at baseline (N=111), a subset also had serum (N=93) and fecal (N=89) SCFA measurements 12 months later. We used Poisson regression with robust error variance to estimate associations of serum or fecal SCFAs with hypertension at baseline (adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and fiber intake). In longitudinal analyses, we assessed the percent change in serum or fecal SCFAs from baseline with corresponding 12-month changes in BP (covariates listed in Table ). Results: Participants were aged 60.2±8.9 years, 78.4% female, and 46.9% identified as White. Higher baseline fecal butyrate was inversely associated with prevalent hypertension (standardized PR [95%CI]: 0.71 [0.54, 0.92]). In longitudinal analyses ( Table ), a 10% increase in fecal butyrate from baseline levels was significantly and inversely associated with systolic BP, and a 10% increase in serum butyrate was significantly and inversely associated with systolic and diastolic BPs. Associations of butyrate with BP were not modified by sex or race. Conclusion: Increased serum or fecal butyrate is associated with lowered BP. Butyrate may be a target for SCFA-centered BP-lowering interventions.