Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors

De la Cuesta-Zuluaga, Jacobo; Mueller, Noel T.; Álvarez-Quintero, Rafael; Velásquez-Mejía, Eliana P.; Sierra, Jelver A.; Corrales-Agudelo, Vanessa; Carmona, Jenny A.; Abad, José M.; Escobar, Juan S.

doi:10.3390/nu11010051

Open AccessArticle

Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors

by

Jacobo De la Cuesta-Zuluaga

^1,†

,

Noel T. Mueller

^2,3

,

Rafael Álvarez-Quintero

⁴,

Eliana P. Velásquez-Mejía

¹,

Jelver A. Sierra

¹

,

Vanessa Corrales-Agudelo

¹

,

Jenny A. Carmona

^5,‡,

José M. Abad

⁶ and

Juan S. Escobar

^1,*

¹

Vidarium–Nutrition, Health and Wellness Research Center, Grupo Empresarial Nutresa, Calle 8 sur #50-67, 050023 Medellin, Colombia

²

Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

³

Welch Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 2024 E. Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA

⁴

Grupo de Investigación en Sustancias Bioactivas, Sede de Investigación Universitaria (SIU), Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 62 #52-59, 050010 Medellin, Colombia

⁵

Dinámica IPS, Especialista en Ayudas Diagnósticas, Calle 27 #45-109, 050021 Medellin, Colombia

⁶

EPS SURA, Calle 49A #63-55, 050034 Medellin, Colombia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Present address: Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck-Ring 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

^‡

Present address: Sura Colombia, 050021 Medellin, Colombia.

Nutrients 2019, 11(1), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010051

Submission received: 24 October 2018 / Revised: 13 December 2018 / Accepted: 14 December 2018 / Published: 27 December 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Microbiota and Obesity)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

Fiber fermentation by gut microbiota yields short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are either absorbed by the gut or excreted in feces. Studies are conflicting as to whether SCFAs are beneficial or detrimental to cardiometabolic health, and how gut microbiota associated with SCFAs is unclear. In this study of 441 community-dwelling adults, we examined associations of fecal SCFAs, gut microbiota diversity and composition, gut permeability, and cardiometabolic outcomes, including obesity and hypertension. We assessed fecal microbiota by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and SCFA concentrations by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Fecal SCFA concentrations were inversely associated with microbiota diversity, and 70 unique microbial taxa were differentially associated with at least one SCFA (acetate, butyrate or propionate). Higher SCFA concentrations were associated with a measure of gut permeability, markers of metabolic dysregulation, obesity and hypertension. Microbial diversity showed association with these outcomes in the opposite direction. Associations were significant after adjusting for measured confounders. In conclusion, higher SCFA excretion was associated with evidence of gut dysbiosis, gut permeability, excess adiposity, and cardiometabolic risk factors. Studies assessing both fecal and circulating SCFAs are needed to test the hypothesis that the association of higher fecal SCFAs with obesity and cardiometabolic dysregulation is due to less efficient SCFA absorption.

Keywords: gut microbiota; SCFA; butyrate; adiposity; metabolic dysregulation; hypertension; gut permeability

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

De la Cuesta-Zuluaga, J.; Mueller, N.T.; Álvarez-Quintero, R.; Velásquez-Mejía, E.P.; Sierra, J.A.; Corrales-Agudelo, V.; Carmona, J.A.; Abad, J.M.; Escobar, J.S. Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors. Nutrients 2019, 11, 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010051

AMA Style

De la Cuesta-Zuluaga J, Mueller NT, Álvarez-Quintero R, Velásquez-Mejía EP, Sierra JA, Corrales-Agudelo V, Carmona JA, Abad JM, Escobar JS. Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors. Nutrients. 2019; 11(1):51. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010051

Chicago/Turabian Style

De la Cuesta-Zuluaga, Jacobo, Noel T. Mueller, Rafael Álvarez-Quintero, Eliana P. Velásquez-Mejía, Jelver A. Sierra, Vanessa Corrales-Agudelo, Jenny A. Carmona, José M. Abad, and Juan S. Escobar. 2019. "Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors" Nutrients 11, no. 1: 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010051

APA Style

De la Cuesta-Zuluaga, J., Mueller, N. T., Álvarez-Quintero, R., Velásquez-Mejía, E. P., Sierra, J. A., Corrales-Agudelo, V., Carmona, J. A., Abad, J. M., & Escobar, J. S. (2019). Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors. Nutrients, 11(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11010051

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Higher Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Levels Are Associated with Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis, Obesity, Hypertension and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI