EMERGING research has highlighted that the composition of gut microbiota may predict the risk of developing cardiometabolic disease, according to a new study from the HELIUS cohort. Researchers found that certain bacterial species in the gut are associated with either increased or decreased risk of cardiovascular events and metabolic disorders.
An Important Step in Cardiometabolic Research
Author Barbara Verhaar, Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands, said: “This study adds important longitudinal evidence to a field that has largely relied on cross-sectional data.
“Following nearly 4,800 participants over almost a decade, we found that gut microbiota composition is associated with future cardiometabolic disease.
“Some associations were attenuated after adjustment for conventional risk factors, which emphasizes that the microbiome does not act in isolation from lifestyle.
“The HELIUS cohort also gave us a unique opportunity to study a multiethnic population.
“That diversity strengthens the generalizability of these findings.
“What I find particularly interesting are the metabolomics results: microbes associated with lower cardiovascular risk correlated with metabolites derived from microbial processing of dietary lignans and plant phenolics.
“This suggests that part of the cardiovascular benefit of plant-rich diets may be mediated through the gut microbiome – although intervention studies are needed to test whether targeted microbiome modulation can meaningfully reduce cardiovascular risk.”
Gut Microbiota and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk
In the prospective multi-ethnic HELIUS cohort, faecal samples were collected from 4,792 participants at baseline and analysed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The study aimed to determine whether baseline gut microbiota could predict long-term cardiometabolic outcomes, including hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). During follow-up, 129 participants experienced MACE (2.7%) and 180 experienced MACE+, which also included angina pectoris (3.8%).
Analysis revealed that a higher abundance of Eubacterium xylanophilum group spp. and Akkermansia muciniphila was associated with a lower risk of MACE+, whereas Ruminococcus gnavus group spp. was linked to higher MACE risk. After adjusting for confounding factors, only the association with Eubacterium xylanophilum group spp. remained statistically significant. These findings suggest that gut microbiota composition is longitudinally linked to cardiometabolic disease risk, offering potential for early detection and personalised prevention strategies.
Mechanistic Insights and Metabolic Links
Exploratory metabolomics analyses further connected Ruminococcus gnavus group spp. to specific bile acid and acylcarnitine metabolites, providing potential mechanistic explanations for its association with cardiometabolic risk.
Overall, this study strengthens the evidence that the gut microbiome is a key factor in cardiometabolic health and disease progression. Future research may pave the way for microbiota-informed interventions to predict and prevent hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular events.
Reference
Verhaar BJH et al. Specific gut microbes are associated with the incidence of cardiometabolic disease in the HELIUS cohort. npj Biofilms Microbiomes. 2026; DOI: 10.1038/s41522-026-00952-6.
Featured image: Audrey on Adobe Stock
