Does geographical variation confound the relationship between host factors and the human gut microbiota: a population-based study in China.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The human gut microbiota plays important roles in human health but is also known to be highly diverse between populations from different regions. Yet most studies inadequately account for this regional diversity in their analyses. This study examines the extent to which geographical variation can act as a confounding variable for studies that associate the microbiota with human phenotypic variation.

Design

Population-based study.

Setting

China.

Participants

2164 participants from 15 province-level divisions in China.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

We analysed the impact of geographic location on associations between the human gut microbiota and 72 host factors representing a wide variety of environmental-level, household-level and indiv

SUBMITTER: Sun S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7678355 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature