Is gut microbial diversity linked to blood pressure?

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Animal models support a role for gut microbiota in the development of hypertension, but epidemiological cohort studies confirming these findings in humans have been lacking. Researchers examined cross-sectional associations between gut microbial diversity and taxonomic composition and blood pressure in 529 participants in CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults), a study of Black and White adults.

They sequenced the V3–V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA marker gene using DNA extracted from stool samples collected at CARDIA’s Year 30 follow-up examination in 2015–2016, when participants were aged 48–60 years. They measured associations of hypertension and systolic blood pressure with within-person and between-person diversity. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg, or use of antihypertension medication. They also conducted genera-specific multivariable-adjusted regression analyses, accounting for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate.

Hypertension and systolic blood pressure were inversely associated with measures of α-diversity, including richness and the Shannon Diversity Index, and were distinguished with respect to principal coordinates based on a similarity matrix of genera abundance. Several specific genera were significantly associated with hypertension and systolic blood pressure, although these associations were attenuated after adjustment for body mass index.

The findings support associations of blood pressure with within-person and between-person gut microbial community diversity and taxonomic composition in a diverse population-based cohort of middle-aged adults. Future research is needed to define the functional pathways underlying the observed associations and identify specific microbial targets for intervention.