Gut microbiota and risk of cardiovascular disease

Project description

The microbial communities, particularly those residing in our gut, have emerged as one of the potential modifiers of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk. The gut microbiota composition in patients with CVD has been shown to be distinct from individuals without the disease. What is not yet clear is whether the gut microbiota composition is also related to future CVD in healthy individuals.

In this project we study the role of gut microbiota in the development of CVD in a longitudinal design. To this end, we make use of data from four large ongoing Swedish cohorts, with measurements of gut microbiota using shotgun metagenomics as well as extensive information on dietary and lifestyle factors, medication use, and linkage to the registers. The cohorts include Swedish Infrastructure for Medical Population-Based Life-Course and Environmental Research (SIMPLER) cohorts comprising the Cohort of Swedish Men (COSM) and the Swedish Mammography Cohort (SMC), Swedish CArdioPulmonary BioImage Study (SCAPIS), and Malmö Offspring Study (MOS). We primarily aim to investigate prospective associations between gut microbiome and incident atherosclerotic CVD. We will also examine associations of gut microbiome with two major types of atherosclerotic CVD: ischemic heart disease and ischemic stroke. Improved understanding on how gut microbiota influences CVD risk will potentially enable us to design interventions targeting the gut microbiota that can prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases.