Exploring the interplay: obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and intestinal microbial ecology in Wuhan

This study investigates the relationship between obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and gut microbial ecology in Wuhan’s population, focusing on identifying microbial signatures linked to metabolic disorders. Between May 2021 and May 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional study involving 100 obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m2), 100 diabetic patients (fasting glucose ≥7 mmol/L or HbA1c ≥6.5%), 100 hypertensive patients (BP ≥140/90 mmHg), and 100 healthy controls matched for age and sex. All participants underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation including anthropometric measurements, biochemical profiling, and stool sample collection. Gut microbiota composition was characterized through 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V3–V4 region) using Illumina MiSeq platform, followed by bioinformatics analysis including alpha/beta diversity metrics and LEfSe analysis (LDA score >4.0). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0 with significance set at P < 0.05. Compared to controls, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension groups exhibited significantly lower abundances of Bifidobacterium, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, and unclassified Enterobacterium (P < 0.05), but higher proportions of Bacteroides, Rombuzia, anaerobic Corynebacterium, Eggerthella, and Streptobacillus (P < 0.05). Alpha diversity (richness, diversity, evenness) increased in metabolic disorder groups but lacked statistical significance (P > 0.05). Pearson analysis revealed strong positive correlations between gut microbial ecology and obesity (r = 0.654), hypertension (r = 0.582), and diabetes (r = 0.981) (P < 0.05). Wuhan patients with metabolic disorders display distinct gut microbiota signatures marked by reduced beneficial taxa and enriched potentially pathogenic species. These findings suggest gut microbiota may serve as a biomarker or therapeutic target for obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.