Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40783766›Full record

ArticleAlzheimer's research & therapy2025

Distinct gut microbiota profiles and network properties in older Korean individuals with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.

Sang Joon Son, Xuanga Wu, Hyun Woong Roh, Yong Hyuk Cho, Sunhwa Hong, You Jin Nam, Chang Hyung Hong, Sunmin Park

Abstract read
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Article in Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

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0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  3. Microorganisms · 2026
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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sang Joon Son *Department of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Xuanga Wu *Department of Bioconvergence, Hoseo University, Asan, South Korea.
Hyun Woong RohDepartment of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Yong Hyuk ChoDepartment of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Sunhwa HongDepartment of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
You Jin NamDepartment of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea.
Chang Hyung HongDepartment of Psychiatry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea. antiaging@ajou.ac.kr.
Sunmin ParkDepartment of Bioconvergence, Hoseo University, Asan, South Korea. smpark@hoseo.edu.

Funding

National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT RS-2019-NR040055National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT RS-2023-00208567the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea HR21C1003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe gut microbiota may influence cognitive function via the gut-brain axis. This study aimed to investigate the gut microbiota profiles of 346 older Korean individuals with subjective cognitive decline but no symptoms (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

methodsParticipants aged an average of 72.3 years underwent the profiling of cognitive function, amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genetic variants, depression status, nutrition, and lifestyles. Human fecal bacterial FASTA/Q data (SCD, n = 24; MCI, n = 246; AD, n = 76) were processed using Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology 2 (QIIME2) tools. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and their counts were assigned with the National Center for Biotechnology Information Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). Machine learning models (random forest and XGBoost) identified key bacterial taxa differentiating groups.

resultsRedundancy analysis revealed associations between gut microbiota composition and cognitive function, age, gender, nutritional status, and body mass index. All three groups shared 71 common bacterial genera with distinct taxonomic profiles across cognitive states. The AD group uniquely harbored Hominisplanchenecus and Lentihominibacter, while the SCD group exclusively contained Anaerosacchariphilus and Anaerobutyricum. Phascolarctobacterium was shared between the AD and MCI groups, and Anaerostipes between the MCI and SCD groups. The SCD group showed significantly elevated Bifidobacterium catenulatum, Anaerobutyricum hallii, and Anaerostipes hadrus. Network analysis demonstrated greater microbial community complexity in the SCD group compared to the MCI and AD groups. Gut bacteria correlated with depression, Aβ deposition, APOE status, and cognitive scores.

conclusionsThis study identified distinct gut microbiota profiles associated with different stages of cognitive impairment in older Korean adults. The observed associations between gut bacterial composition and cognitive function, neurodegeneration biomarkers, and related clinical factors suggest potential relationships that warrant further investigation. These findings contribute to the growing understanding of gut-brain interactions in cognitive aging.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseCognitive DysfunctionGastrointestinal MicrobiomeAgedAged, 80 and overFecesFemaleHumansMaleRepublic of KoreaAlzheimer’s diseaseBifidobacterium catenulatumCognitive functionGut microbiotaMild cognitive impairmentNetwork analysis

Identifiers

PMID40783766
PMCPMC12335041

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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.