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PHARMACOTHERAPY

Improved gut microbiota profile in individuals with obesity taking statins

Nature Reviews Cardiology volume 17, page 385 (2020)Cite this article

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Individuals with obesity have an increased prevalence of the Bacteroides 2 (Bact2) enterotype, one of four classifications of gut microbiota composition that is associated with systemic inflammation and disease. However, individuals with obesity who are taking statin therapy have a lower prevalence of this dysbiosis than individuals with obesity who are not receiving statins. Causality has not been established, but the possibility that statin therapy might have gut microbiota-modulatory benefits should now be tested.

The researchers also found that individuals with obesity who were receiving statin therapy had a lower prevalence of the Bact2 enterotype (5.9%) than individuals with obesity who were not taking statins (17.7%). This finding was validated in an independent cohort of 2,345 individuals from the Flemish Gut Flora Project.

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  • Tang, W. H. W. et al. Dietary metabolism, the gut microbiome, and heart failure. Nat. Rev. Cardiol. 16, 137–154 (2019)

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  1. Nature Reviews Cardiology http://www.nature.com/nrcardio/

    Gregory B. Lim

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  1. Gregory B. Lim
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Correspondence to Gregory B. Lim.

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Lim, G.B. Improved gut microbiota profile in individuals with obesity taking statins. Nat Rev Cardiol 17, 385 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-020-0396-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41569-020-0396-6

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