Dataset Information

Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults.

ABSTRACT: In the United States, there are persistent and widening socioeconomic gaps in morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Although most disparities research focuses on person-level socioeconomic-status, mounting evidence suggest that chronic diseases also pattern by the demographic characteristics of neighborhoods. Yet the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are poorly understood. There is increasing recognition that chronic diseases share common pathogenic features, some of which involve alterations in the composition, diversity, and functioning of the gut microbiota. This study examined whether socioeconomic-status was associated with alpha-diversity of the colonic microbiota. Forty-four healthy adults underwent un-prepped sigmoidoscopy, during which mucosal biopsies and fecal samples were collected. Subjects' zip codes were geocoded, and census data was used to form a composite indicator of neighborhood socioeconomic-status, reflecting household income, educational attainment, employment status, and home value. In unadjusted analyses, neighborhood socioeconomic-status explained 12-18 percent of the variability in alpha-diversity of colonic microbiota. The direction of these associations was positive, meaning that as neighborhood socioeconomic-status increased, so did alpha-diversity of both the colonic sigmoid mucosa and fecal microbiota. The strength of these associations persisted when models were expanded to include covariates reflecting potential demographic (age, gender, race/ethnicity) and lifestyle (adiposity, alcohol use, smoking) confounds. In these models neighborhood socioeconomic-status continued to explain 11-22 percent of the variability in diversity indicators. Further analyses suggested these patterns reflected socioeconomic variations in evenness, but not richness, of microbial communities residing in the sigmoid. We also found indications that residence in neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic-status was associated with a greater abundance of Bacteroides and a lower abundance of Prevotella, suggesting that diet potentially underlies differences in microbiota composition. These findings suggest the presence of socioeconomic variations in colonic microbiota diversity. Future research should explore whether these variations contribute to disparities in chronic disease outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Miller GE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4747579 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults.

Miller Gregory E GE Engen Phillip A PA Gillevet Patrick M PM Shaikh Maliha M Sikaroodi Masoumeh M Forsyth Christopher B CB Mutlu Ece E Keshavarzian Ali A

PloS one 20160209 2

In the United States, there are persistent and widening socioeconomic gaps in morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases. Although most disparities research focuses on person-level socioeconomic-status, mounting evidence suggest that chronic diseases also pattern by the demographic characteristics of neighborhoods. Yet the biological mechanisms underlying these associations are poorly understood. There is increasing recognition that chronic diseases share common pathogenic features, some of w ...[more]

PMID: 26859894

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Project description:ImportanceStudying long-term changes in neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) may help to better understand the associations between neighborhood exposure and weight outcomes and provide evidence supporting neighborhood interventions. Little previous research has been done to examine associations between neighborhood SES and weight loss, a risk factor associated with poor health outcomes in the older population.ObjectiveTo determine whether improvements in neighborhood SES are associated with reduced likelihoods of excessive weight gain and excessive weight loss and whether declines are associated with increased likelihoods of these weight outcomes.Design, study, and participantsThis cohort study was conducted using data from the National Institutes of Health-AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) Diet and Health study (1995-2006). The analysis included a cohort of 126 179 adults (aged 50-71 years) whose neighborhoods at baseline (1995-1996) were the same as at follow-up (2004-2006). All analyses were performed from December 2018 through December 2020.ExposuresLiving in a neighborhood that experienced 1 of 8 neighborhood SES trajectories defined based on a national neighborhood SES index created using data from the US Census and American Community Survey. The 8 trajectory groups, in which high, or H, indicated rankings at or above the sample median of a specific year and low, or L, indicated rankings below the median, were HHH (ie, high in 1990 to high in 2000 to high in 2010), or stable high; HLL, or early decline; HHL, or late decline; HLH, or transient decline; LLL, or stable low; LHH, or early improvement; LLH, or late improvement; and LHL, or transient improvement.Main outcomes and measuresExcessive weight gain and loss were defined as gaining or losing 10% or more of baseline weight.ResultsAmong 126 179 adults, 76 225 (60.4%) were men and the mean (SD) age was 62.1 (5.3) years. Improvements in neighborhood SES were associated with lower likelihoods of excessive weight gain and weight loss over follow-up, while declines in neighborhood SES were associated with higher likelihoods of excessive weight gain and weight loss. Compared with the stable low group, the risk was significantly reduced for excessive weight gain in the early improvement group (odds ratio [OR], 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.95) and for excessive weight loss in the late improvement group (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-1.00). Compared with the stable high group, the risk of excessive weight gain was significantly increased for the early decline group (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.08-1.31) and late decline group (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04-1.24) and for excessive weight loss in the early decline group (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02-1.28). The increases in likelihood were greater when the improvement or decline in neighborhood SES occurred early in the study period (ie, 1990-2000) and was substantiated throughout the follow-up (ie, the early decline and early improvement groups). Overall, we found a linear association between changes in neighborhood SES and weight outcomes, in which every 5 percentile decline in neighborhood SES was associated with a 1.2% to 2.4% increase in the risk of excessive weight gain or loss (excessive weight gain: OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02 for women; OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03 for men; excessive weight loss: OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03 for women; OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01-1.03 for men; P for- trend < .0001).Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that changing neighborhood environment was associated with changes in weight status in older adults.

Dataset Information

Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults.

Publications

Lower Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status Associated with Reduced Diversity of the Colonic Microbiota in Healthy Adults.

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