Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33931023›Full record

ArticleBMC microbiology2021

Sex differences in the phylum-level human gut microbiota composition.

Alexander Koliada, Vladislav Moseiko, Mariana Romanenko, Oleh Lushchak, Nadiia Kryzhanovska, Vitaly Guryanov, Alexander Vaiserman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
62citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

62 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Gut Microbiota and Liver Health: Meta-Analysis ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Review
  7. Polysaccharides and carbohydrate polymers: innovations from nature to industry.Journal of the science of food and agriculture · 2026
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. SCiMS: Sex Calling in Metagenomic Sequences.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Severity of Depressive Symptoms by Perceived Stress and Gut Microbiota Composition: A Sex-Stratified Bayesian Approach in a Non-Clinical Sample.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026
    Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Alexander KoliadaMolecular Genetic Laboratory Diagen, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Vladislav MoseikoMolecular Genetic Laboratory Diagen, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Mariana RomanenkoInstitute of Gerontology, Vyshgorodskaya st. 67, 04114, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Oleh LushchakVasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
Nadiia KryzhanovskaPB MEDICOM-IN, Dnipro, Ukraine.
Vitaly GuryanovBogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Alexander VaisermanInstitute of Gerontology, Vyshgorodskaya st. 67, 04114, Kyiv, Ukraine. vaiserman23@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEvidence was previously provided for sex-related differences in the human gut microbiota composition, and sex-specific discrepancy in hormonal profiles was proposed as a main determinant of these differences. On the basis of these findings, the assumption was made on the role of microbiota in the sexual dimorphism of human diseases. To date, sex differences in fecal microbiota were demonstrated primarily at lower taxonomic levels, whereas phylum-level differences between sexes were reported in few studies only. In the present population-based cross-sectional research, sex differences in the phylum-level human gut microbiota composition were identified in a large (total n = 2301) sample of relatively healthy individuals from Ukraine.

resultsRelative abundances of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, as determined by qRT-PCR, were found to be significantly increased, while that of Bacteroidetes was significantly decreased in females compared to males. The Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio was significantly increased in females compared to males. Females had 31 % higher odds of having F/B ratio more than 1 than males. This trend was evident in all age groups. The difference between sexes was even more pronounced in the elder individuals (50+): in this age group, female participants had 56 % higher odds of having F/B ratio > 1 than the male ones.

conclusionsIn conclusion, sex-specific differences in the phylum-level intestinal microbiota composition were observed in the Ukraine population. The F/B ratio was significantly increased in females compared to males. Further investigation is needed to draw strong conclusions regarding the mechanistic basis for sex-specific differences in the gut microbiota composition and regarding the role of these differences in the initiation and progression of human chronic diseases.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultChildFemaleGastrointestinal MicrobiomeGonadal Steroid HormonesHumansMaleMiddle AgedPopulation DensitySex FactorsUkraineYoung AdultGonadal Steroid HormonesFirmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratioGut microbiota compositionHormonal profileSex-specific differences

Identifiers

PMID33931023
PMCPMC8088078

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.