Abstract P529: Altered Gut Microbiota in Obesity and Cardiometabolic Traits: Results From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

Abstract

Introduction: The relationship between gut microbiome and human obesity is not fully elucidated. Most evidence is from animal models or small case-control studies. Data in population-based cohort are limited. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that some specific bacterial taxonomy are associated with host obesity, some of them may also associated with obesity-related cardiometabolic traits. Methods: This study included 2759 participants from the HCHS/SOL. Fecal samples were analyzed by shotgun metagenomics sequencing, with the SHOGUN pipeline for bacterial taxonomic identification. Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine associations of bacterial genera with multiple obesity and cardiometabolic traits. Results: Of 87 predominant genera (average relative abundance >0.01%), 43 were significantly associated with BMI after multiple testing correction ( Fig 1 ). These included some known obesity-associated taxa (e.g., Acidaminococcus , Dorea etc.) , some taxa with controversial results in human and animal studies (e.g, Methanobrevibacter ), and some novel links with obesity (e.g, Cloacibacillus) . Among these 43 BMI-associated genera, 18 were associated with waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and 15 were associated with body fat percentage (BF%) but not with fat free mass (FFM). Several obesity-related genera were associated with multiple cardiometabolic traits. For instance, Dorea , a glutamate metabolism related genus, was associated with higher levels of BMI, WHR, BF%, dystopic blood pressure, fasting glucose, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. Cloacibacillus showed inverse associations with BMI, BF%, triglyceride, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, and positive association with HDL. Methanobrevibacter , a methane producer which related to human energy harvest , was associated with lower levels of BMI, BF%, triglyceride and HOMA-IR(all p <0.05). Conclusion: This study in a large US Hispanic/Latino cohort identified multiple gut microbial genera associated with human obesity and related cardiometabolic traits.