Cross-sectional study finds high sodium excretion correlates with altered gut microbiome composition in Swedish adults, suggesting potential links to cardiometabolic health.
Key Points
To examine the cross-sectional association between estimated 24-hour sodium excretion and gut microbiome composition and functional potential in a large population-based cohort.
Analyzed 9,220 participants from the Swedish SCAPIS cohort with shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples and estimated 24-hour sodium excretion calculated via the Kawasaki formula.
Evaluated alpha diversity (Shannon and inverse Simpson indices), beta diversity (Bray–Curtis dissimilarity), and functional potential (Gut Microbial Modules) using mixed linear regression models.
Alpha diversity associations with estimated sodium excretion became non-significant after BMI adjustment, whereas beta diversity showed a statistically significant association with minimal variance explained (R² < 0.001).
Higher sodium excretion was linked to 75 microbial species, including the depletion of 27 species and enrichment of oral-associated taxa such as Streptococcus spp. and Veillonella.
Functional profiling demonstrated an increased abundance of microbial pathways dedicated to energy metabolism and carbohydrate fermentation in individuals with higher sodium excretion.