The Association Between Smoking and Gut Microbiome in Bangladesh

INTRODUCTION: Epidemiological studies that investigate alterations in the gut microbial composition associated with smoking are lacking. This study examined the composition of the gut microbiome in smokers compared with nonsmokers. AIMS AND METHODS: Stool samples were collected in a cross-sectional study of 249 participants selected from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh. Microbial DNA was extracted from the fecal samples and sequenced by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The associations of smoking status and intensity of smoking with the relative abundance or the absence and presence of individual bacterial taxon from phylum to genus levels were examined. RESULTS: The relative abundance of bacterial taxa along the Erysipelotrichi-to-Catenibacterium lineage was significantly higher in current smokers compared to never-smokers. The…