Toxic metals impact gut microbiota and metabolic risk in five African-origin populations
Underlying mechanisms by which exposures to toxic metals/metalloids impact obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) risk remain largely unknown. Gut microbiota have been strongly associated with cardiometabolic risk. To assess relationships between high metal exposures, gut dysbiosis, and metabolic dysregulation, we analyzed associations among gut microbiome taxa, dichotomized metal levels (arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium), clinical measures (BMI, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure), and diagnoses (hypertension, obesity, diabetes) in 178 African-origin adults (52% female, mean age = 43.0 ± 6.4 years) from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles, and USA. High vs. low lead and arsenic levels had a significant effect on beta diversity (p < 0.05). Seventy-one taxa were associated with high lead levels: 30 with elevated BMI, 22 with T2DM, and 23 with elevated fasting blood glucose (p < 0.05); 115 taxa were associated with high arsenic levels: 32 with elevated BMI, 33 with T2DM, and 26 with elevated blood glucose (p < 0.05). Porphyrin metabolism was the most enriched metabolic pathway in taxa associated with higher lead and arsenic exposure. These data provide the first findings from African-origin adults that demonstrate the association between the gut microbiome with lead and arsenic exposure and obesity and T2DM risk.
Authors
- Gertrude Ecklu-Mensah (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1770-3071)
- Brian Thomas Layden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2176-5654)
- Yang David Dai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7638-849X)
- Maria Argos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4234-252X)
- Lara Ruth Dugas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0692-8585)
- Estelle Victoria Lambert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4315-9153)
- Lina Issa
- Dale E. Rae (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2584-6585)
- Tanika N. Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7348-4451)
- Julianne A. Jorgensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9852-0837)
- Jack A. Gilbert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7920-7001)
- Terrence Forrester (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7976-8669)
- Robert Michael Sargis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7061-2983)
- Pascal Bovet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0242-4259)
- Amy H. Luke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8484-9439)
- Candice Choo-Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9150-1131)
- Kweku Bedu-Addo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5479-0691)
- Luyu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9003-0788)
Institutions
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- University of the West (US)
- Loyola University Chicago (US)
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (GH)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (US)
- Centre universitaire de médecine générale et santé publique, Lausanne (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Gut Microbes Reports
- Published
- 2025-04-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/29933935.2025.2481442
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.40
Funders
- National Institutes of Health