Gut microbial composition in patients with atrial fibrillation: effects of diet and drugs

• Published in: Heart and vessels Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 105 - 114
• Main Authors: Tabata, Tokiko, Yamashita, Tomoya, Hosomi, Koji, Park, Jonguk, Hayashi, Tomohiro, Yoshida, Naofumi, Saito, Yoshihiro, Fukuzawa, Koji, Konishi, Kana, Murakami, Haruka, Kawashima, Hitoshi, Mizuguchi, Kenji, Miyachi, Motohiko, Kunisawa, Jun, Hirata, Ken-ichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.01.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Composition; Congestive heart failure; Diet; Dysbacteriosis; Fatty acids; Fibrillation; Gene sequencing; Intestinal microflora; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolites; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Original; Original Article; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Quality of life; rRNA 16S; Vascular Surgery; Gut microbiota; Dietary habits; Eicosadienoic acid; Atrial fibrillation; n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids
• ISSN: 0910-8327; 1615-2573; 1615-2573
• DOI: 10.1007/s00380-020-01669-y

Atrial fibrillation (AF) reduces the quality of life by triggering stroke and heart failure. The association between AF onset and gut metabolites suggests a causal relationship between AF and gut microbiota dysbiosis; however, the relationship remains poorly understood. We prospectively enrolled 34 hospitalized patients with AF and 66 age-, sex-, and comorbidity-matched control subjects without a history of AF. Gut microbial compositions were evaluated by amplicon sequencing targeting the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. We assessed differences in dietary habits by using a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ). Gut microbial richness was lower in AF patients, although the diversity of gut microbiota did not differ between the two groups. At the genus level, Enterobacter was depleted, while Parabacteroides , Lachnoclostridium , Streptococcus, and Alistipes were enriched in AF patients compared to control subjects. The BDHQ revealed that the intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and eicosadienoic acid was higher in AF patients. Our results suggested that AF patients had altered gut microbial composition in connection with dietary habits.