The gut microbiota has been linked to blood lipids. However, the relationship between the gut microbiome and other lipid markers like apolipoproteins A1 (apoA1) and B (apoB) as well as classical lipid markers in Asians remain unclear. Here, we examined the associations between gut microbial diversity and taxonomic compositions with both apolipoproteins and lipid markers in a large number of Korean patients. The fecal 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from 1141 subjects were analyzed and subjects were categorized into control group (G0) or abnormal group (G1) according to blood lipid measurements. The microbial diversity and several taxa of the gut microbiota were significantly associated with triglyceride, apoA1, and apoB levels, but not with total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiota was inversely associated with high triglyceride level. Interestingly, G1 of apoA1 showed increased microbial richness and distinct microbial community compared with G0 of apoA1. A high abundance of Fusobacteria and low abundance of Oscillospira were found in the hypertriglyceridemia group. In this large-scale study, we identified associations of gut microbiota with apolipoproteins and classical lipid markers, indicating that the gut microbiota may be an important target for regulating blood lipids.

Kim H, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2015 Jul;30(7):853-859. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2015.30.7.853

A person high in neuroticism is more likely to experience anxiety, stress, worry, fear, anger, and depression. Previous studies have shown that the gut microbiota can influence personality and mental disorders, including stress, anxiety, and depression, through the gut–brain axis. Here, we investigated the correlations between the sub-facet of neuroticism and gut microbiota using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and the 16S rRNA gene sequencing data 784 adults. We found that the high anxiety and vulnerability group showed significantly lower richness in microbial diversity than a group with low anxiety and vulnerability. In beta diversity, there was a significant difference between the low and high groups of anxiety, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and vulnerability. In taxonomic compositions, Haemophilus belonging to Gammaproteobacteria was correlated with the Neuroticism domain as well as N1 anxiety and N6 vulnerability facets. The high N1 anxiety and N6 vulnerability group was correlated with a low abundance of Christensenellaceae belonging to Firmicutes Clostridia. High N4 self-consciousness was correlated with a low abundance of Alistipes and Sudoligranulum. N5 impulsiveness was correlated with a low abundance of Oscillospirales. Our findings will contribute to uncovering the potential link between the gut microbiota and neuroticism, and the elucidation of the correlations of the microbiome–gut–brain axis with behavioral changes and psychiatric cases in the general population.

Kim MH, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2015 Jan;30(1):1-6. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2015.30.1.1

We examined the association between self-rated health (SRH), a subjective measure of an individual’s health status, and the incidence of metabolic abnormalities, as well as the effect of obesity on this association in metabolically healthy individuals. The cohort study included 85,377 metabolically healthy men and women who were followed annually or biennially for a median of 3.0 years (interquartile range, 1.9–4.1 years). A parametric proportional hazard model was used to assess hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between SRH and the incidence of metabolic abnormalities. During 258,689.03 person-years, 40,858 participants developed metabolic abnormalities. Poorer SRH was significantly associated with increased risk of developing any metabolic abnormality including hypertriglyceridemia, high homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and fatty liver in a dose-dependent manner (p for trend <0.05). The association between SRH and progression to metabolically unhealthy status was much stronger in individuals with obesity than those without, especially in relation to any metabolic abnormality, fatty liver, and high C-reactive protein (all p for interaction by obesity <0.05). The multivariable-adjusted HR (95% CI) for any metabolic abnormality comparing the “poor or very poor” vs. the “very good” self-rated health category was 0.97 (0.90–1.05) among non-obese subjects, whereas the corresponding HR (95% CI) among obese subjects was 1.25 (1.02–1.52). Low SRH, as assessed by a single question, was independently associated with increased risk of progression to metabolically unhealthy status in metabolically healthy individuals, especially metabolically healthy individuals with obesity. SRH may help identify individuals at high risk for progression to metabolically unhealthy status.

Kim MH, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2017 Mar;32(3):386-392. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.3.386