ArticleBMC gastroenterology2024
The causal relationship between gut microbiota and constipation: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Gut microbiota dysbiosis and amino acid metabolic dysregulation in children with allergic rhinitis complicated by constipation.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Gut microbiota and constipation: from causal evidence to therapeutic strategies-a state-of-the-art narrative review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- Pathophysiological mechanisms, diagnostic innovations, and multimodal therapeutic strategies for slow transit constipation.BMC gastroenterology · 2025Review
- Review
- Different Efficacy of Five Soluble Dietary Fibers on Alleviating Loperamide-Induced Constipation in Mice: Influences of Different Structural Features.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Clinical Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) in Pediatric Functional Constipation: Impact on Immunological Indicators and Gut Microbiota.Journal of immunology research · 2025Article
- Association of the newly proposed dietary index for gut microbiota and constipation: a cross-sectional study from NHANES.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundConstipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders afflicting the population, with recent observational studies implicating dysfunction of the gut microbiota in constipation. Despite observational studies indicating a relationship, a clear causality remains unclear. This study aims to use two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to establish a clearer causal relationship between the two.
methodsA two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed using the gut microbiota summary Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) statistics from MiBioGen consortium (n = 13,266) and constipation GWAS summary statistics from the IEU OpenGWAS database. The causality between gut microbiota and constipation is primarily analyzed using the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method and reinforced by an additional four methods, including MR-Egger, Weighted Median, Simple Mode, and Weighted Mode. Finally, funnel plot, heterogeneity test, horizontal pleiotropy test, and leave-one-out test were used to evaluate the reliability of MR results.
resultsIVW estimates suggested that the bacterial species Anaerotruncus, Butyricimonas, and Hungatella were causally associated with constipation. The odds ratio (OR) values of Anaerotruncus, Butyricimonas, and Hungatella were 1.08 (95% CI = 1.02-1.13; P = 0.007), 1.07 (95% CI = 1.01-1.13; P = 0.015), 1.03 (95% CI = 1.00-1.06; P = 0.037) respectively. Meanwhile, Ruminiclostridium 9 and Intestinibacter have been shown to be associated with a reduced risk of constipation. The OR of Ruminiclostridium 9 = 0.75(95% CI = 0.73-0.78, P < 0.001 and Intestinibacter of OR = 0.89 (95% CI = 0.86-0.93, P < 0.001). Furthermore, validation by funnel plot, heterogeneity test, and horizontal pleiotropy test showed that MR results were reliable.
conclusionThis is the first Mendelian randomization study to explore the causalities between specific gut microbiota taxa and constipation, and as such may be useful in providing insights into the unclear pathology of constipation which can in turn aid in the search for prevention and treatment.
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