Find in Library

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been linked to altered gut microbiome; however, evidence from large population-based studies is limited. We compared gut microbiome profiles of 188 male and 233 female NAFLD cases with 571 male and 567 female controls from two longitudinal studies of urban Chinese adults. History of NAFLD was assessed during surveys administered in 2004–2017. Microbiota were assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples collected in 2015–2018. Associations of NAFLD with microbiome diversity and composition were evaluated by generalized linear or logistic regression models. Compared with controls, male cases had lower microbial α-diversity, higher abundance of genera <i>Dialister</i> and <i>Streptococcus</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> species, lower abundance of genus <i>Phascolarctobacterium</i>, and lower prevalence of taxa including order <i>RF39</i> (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). In contrast, female cases had higher α-diversity, higher abundance of genus <i>Butyricimonas</i> and a family of order <i>Clostridiales</i>, lower abundance of <i>Dialister</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> species, and higher prevalence of <i>RF39</i>. Significant NAFLD–sex interactions were found for α-diversity and above taxa (all false discovery rate < 0.1). In conclusion, we observed sex-specific gut microbiome features related to history of NAFLD. Further studies are needed to validate our findings and evaluate the health effects of NAFLD-related gut microbiota.