Of the 1,388 participants, 72 had , resulting in a prevalence of 5.2%.
Beta-diversity of the gut microbiome was significantly associated with the presence of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (P = 0.003).
Higher levels of the bacteria Bilophila and Desulfovibrio were associated with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis.
Lower levels of the bacteria Roseburia were also associated with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis.
Altered functional pathways related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism were observed in participants with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis.
Simplified
OBJECTIVE: Systemic inflammatory factors have been implicated in (OA). promotes systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the gut microbiome and the presence of symptomatic hand OA in a population-based study.
METHODS: Study participants were subjects of the Xiangya Osteoarthritis Study, a community-based observational study conducted in the Hunan Province of China. Symptomatic hand OA was defined as the presence of both symptoms and radiographic OA in the same hand. The gut microbiome was analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing in stool samples. We examined the relation of α-diversity, β-diversity, relative abundance of taxa, and potential bacterial functional pathways to symptomatic hand OA.
RESULTS: A total of 1,388 participants (mean age 61.3 years, 57.4% women) were included in the study, of whom 72 had symptomatic hand OA (prevalence of symptomatic hand OA 5.2%). Beta-diversity of the gut microbiome, but not α-diversity, was significantly associated with the presence of symptomatic hand OA (P = 0.003). Higher relative abundance of the genera Bilophila and Desulfovibrio as well as lower relative abundance of the genus Roseburia was associated with symptomatic hand OA. Most functional pathways (i.e., those annotated in the KEGG Ortholog hierarchy) that were observed to be altered in participants with symptomatic hand OA belonged to the amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolic pathways.
CONCLUSION: This large, population-based study provides the first evidence that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiome were observed among study participants who had symptomatic hand OA, and a low relative abundance of Roseburia but high relative abundance of Bilophila and Desulfovibrio at the genus level were associated with prevalent symptomatic hand OA. These findings may help investigators understand the role of the microbiome in the development of symptomatic hand OA and could contribute to potential translational opportunities.
Key numbers
5.2%
Prevalence of symptomatic hand
Out of 1,388 participants in the study.
70.9 years vs. 62.8 years
Age difference
Average age of participants with symptomatic hand compared to those without.
β = 0.008
Higher relative abundance of Bilophila
Statistical association with symptomatic hand after adjustments.
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