Gut dysbiosis and mortality in hemodialysis patients

• Main Authors: Ting-Yun Lin, Ping-Hsun Wu, Yi-Ting Lin, Szu-Chun Hung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-03-01
• Series: npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-021-00191-x

Abstract Little is known about the relationship between gut dysbiosis, inflammation, and adverse outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease. We examined the association of microbial diversity with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients. The gut microbiota was assessed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. During a median follow-up of 2.1 years, the adjusted risk of death among patients with higher diversity (above median) was 74% lower than that among patients with lower diversity (below median). We then compared the microbial composition between nonsurvivors and survivors in a matched case-control study. We observed significantly lower microbial diversity and higher proinflammatory cytokines among nonsurvivors than survivors. Specifically, the relative abundance of Succinivibrio and Anaerostipes, two short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, was markedly reduced in nonsurvivors. Thus, a unique gut microbial composition is associated with an increased risk of mortality among hemodialysis patients and may be used to identify subjects with a poor prognosis.