SynthesisJournal of clinical gastroenterology
Association Between Sex Hormone Levels and Gut Microbiota Composition and Diversity-A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of clinical gastroenterology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- Potential relationship of the gut microbiome with testosterone level in men: a systematic review.PeerJ · 2025Pooled it
- Sex differences in the gut microbiome and related metabolites: role in cardiometabolic disease.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Precise probiotic therapy: Advances, bottlenecks, and the road to microbiome-informed nutrition.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- The urinary tract commensalApplied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Gut Microbiota in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Clinical Phenotyping and Therapeutic Opportunities.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis Mechanisms in Cognitive Impairment Associated with Central Obesity.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Article
- The Gut Microbiome-Endocrine Axis in Obesity: Mechanisms and Therapeutics.Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Review
- A Longitudinal Study of Antimicrobial Resistance in Oral Bacterial Isolates From Periodontitis Patients in Taiwan.International dental journal · 2026Article
- Microbial Variability in Zoo-Housed Alaotran Gentle Lemurs: Host-Associated Factors and Environmental Influences.American journal of primatology · 2026Article
- Microbiome-Directed Bioactive Strategies in Skin Aging: Mechanistic Insights and Precision Nanocarrier Delivery Approaches.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Atopic Dermatitis Beyond Cutaneous Inflammation: The Interplay Between Progesterone, Testosterone, Gut Microbiota, and Immune Dysregulation.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Targeting the gut microbiome: an integrated probiotic and prebiotic strategy for polycystic ovary syndrome management.Journal of ovarian research · 2026Review
- Sex-specific gut microbiota and metabolite signatures in Parkinson's disease: implications for personalized therapeutics.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Review
- Multi-omics profiles of sex hormone-binding globulin are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in men with HIV.Genome medicine · 2026Article
- Intrapartum caesarean delivery and childhood BMI trajectories in relation to the infant gut microbiome in the VDAART prospective birth cohort.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Gut Microbiome-Hormone Interactions and Precision Fermentation in the Prevention of Early Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Age and sex dependent shift in murine gut microbiome reveals pathological links to host cardiovascular and metabolic pathways.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Cardiovascular disease risk factors in women with O-desmethylangolensin producing and non-producing gut microbial metabotypes: an observational study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Observational
- Effects of castration on growth performance and cecal microbiota in growing raccoon dogs: an exploratory study.BMC veterinary research · 2026Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
GOALS/
backgroundAnimal studies have highlighted how the microbiota acts in a sex-specific manner with sex hormones demonstrating an association with the composition and diversity of the microbiota. This systematic review aimed to gather the available scientific evidence to explore the association between sex hormones and gut microbiota composition and diversity, in humans. STUDY: Four bibliographic databases were searched in July 2020 using terms related to "microbiota," "microflora," "sex hormones," "testosterone," and "estrogen." Human studies that investigated the correlation between sex hormones and the microbiota composition or diversity using next-generation sequencing were included.
resultsA total of 10,468 records were screened with 13 studies included in this review. In healthy women, higher estrogen levels were found to be associated with a higher abundance of Bacteroidetes, a lower abundance of Firmicutes, the Ruminococcaceae family and increased diversity. In healthy men, raised testosterone levels positively correlated with Ruminococcus, Acinetobacter, and an increased microbial diversity. Escherichia and Shigella spp. were correlated with raised testosterone in healthy women whereas Ruminococcus spp. was negatively associated with elevated testosterone levels. Women with altered testosterone/estrogen profiles (such as in polycystic ovary syndrome), had a differing gut microbiota compared with healthy women.
conclusionsThe findings gathered highlight an association between sex hormones and the gut microbiota composition/diversity and may contribute to the sex-based variations observed in disease pathogenesis. Factors such as age and medical conditions are implicated in the associations observed and should be accounted for in future studies. As the understanding of the complex symbiotic relationship between humans and their gut microbiota increases, microbiota modulation could be an attractive option for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.