Plant-based diets and the gut microbiome: findings from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

Authors

Xinyi Shen, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States.
Curtis Tilves, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States.
Hyunju Kim, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, United States.
Toshiko Tanaka, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Adam P. Spira, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Chee W. Chia, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Sameera A. Talegawkar, Departments of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences and Epidemiology, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States.
Luigi Ferrucci, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Noel T. Mueller, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, United States; Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States. Electronic address: noel.mueller@cuanschutz.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

3-1-2024

Journal

The American journal of clinical nutrition

Volume

119

Issue

3

DOI

10.1016/j.ajcnut.2024.01.006

Keywords

diet; dietary pattern; gut microbiome; healthful plant-based diet index; overall plant-based diet index; unhealthful plant-based diet index

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence indicates that although some plant-based diets are healthful, others are not. Changes in the gut microbiome and microbiome-dependent metabolites, such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), may explain differential health effects of plant-based diets. However, human data are sparse on whether qualitatively distinct types of plant-based diets differentially affect gut microbiome diversity, composition, particularly at the species level, and/or metabolites. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine cross-sectional associations of different plant-based indices with adult gut microbiome diversity, composition, and the metabolite TMAO. METHODS: We studied 705 adults in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging with data for diet, fecal microbiome (shotgun metagenomic sequencing), and key covariates. We derived healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI) and unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI) using data from food frequency questionnaires. We examined plant-based diet indices with microbiome α-diversity (richness and evenness measures), β-diversity (Bray-Curtis and UniFrac measures), composition (species level), and plasma TMAO. We used regression models to determine associations before and after adjustment for age, sex, education, physical activity, smoking status, body mass index, and total energy intake. RESULTS: The analytic sample (mean age, 71.0 years, SD = 12.8 years) comprised 55.6% female and 67.5% non-Hispanic White participants. hPDI was positively and uPDI negatively associated with microbiome α-diversity, driven by microbial evenness (Pielou P < 0.05). hPDI was also positively associated with relative abundance of 3 polysaccharide-degrading bacterial species (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium eligens, and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron) and inversely associated with 6 species (Blautia hydrogenotrophica, Doreasp CAG 317, Eisenbergiella massiliensis, Sellimonas intestinalis, Blautia wexlerae, and Alistipes shahii). Furthermore, hPDI was inversely associated with TMAO. Associations did not differ by age, sex, or race. CONCLUSIONS: Greater adherence to a healthful plant-based diet is associated with microbiome features that have been linked to positive health; adherence to an unhealthful plant-based diet has opposing or null associations with these features.

APA Citation

Shen, Xinyi; Tilves, Curtis; Kim, Hyunju; Tanaka, Toshiko; Spira, Adam P.; Chia, Chee W.; Talegawkar, Sameera A.; Ferrucci, Luigi; and Mueller, Noel T., "Plant-based diets and the gut microbiome: findings from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 4624.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4624

Department

Exercise and Nutrition Sciences