Association of dietary index of gut microbiota with cardiovascular disease risk: new evidence from NHANES 2007–2018
Jiameng Jin, Xingang Sun, Lihong Wang
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The dietary index of gut microbiota (DI-GM) is a newly proposed index for assessing dietary quality, and studies on its association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are limited. This study aimed to investigate the association between DI-GM and the prevalence of CVD. METHODS: We utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between DI-GM and CVD. Smoothed curve fitting was employed to explore potential nonlinear relationships. Additionally, subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the stability of the results. RESULTS: The study included 22,590 participants, of whom 20,216 had no CVD and 2,374 had CVD. After adjusting for all covariates, the DI-GM score was significantly negatively associated with CVD risk, with a 4% reduction in CVD risk for each unit increase in DI-GM score (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.99, P = 0.015). Notably, the highest DI-GM score group (6-12) had a 13% lower risk of CVD compared to the lowest DI-GM score group (0-3) (OR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-1.00, P = 0.048). CONCLUSION: The research results indicate that a higher DI-GM score protects against CVD, providing crucial empirical support for dietary intervention strategies based on gut microbiota modulation. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.