Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41044486›Full record

ArticleBMC pulmonary medicine2025

Causal relationship between gut microbiota and pneumonia: a Mendelian randomization and retrospective case-control study.

Pengfei Huang, Yanqi Liu, Nana Li, Qianqian Zhang, Yinghao Luo, Yuxin Zhang, Yuxin Zhou, Wenjing Mu, Mengyao Yuan, Yuhan Liu and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pulmonary medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
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

17 authors.

Pengfei Huang *Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yanqi Liu *Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Nana Li *Department of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Qianqian ZhangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yinghao LuoDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yuxin ZhangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yuxin ZhouDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Wenjing MuDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, 150081, China.
Mengyao YuanDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yuhan LiuDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yu XinDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Hongxu LiDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Yahui PengDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Xibo WangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China.
Mingyan ZhaoDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China. mingyan1970@126.com.
Kaijiang YuDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China. drkaijiang@163.com.
Changsong WangDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China. changsongwangicu@163.com.

Funding

the National Natural Science Foundation of China No.82430069the National Natural Science Foundation of China No.82472198the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund U20A20366
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe relationship between microbiota and the gut-lung axis has been extensively studied in both experimental and epidemiological contexts. However, it is still unclear whether the gut microbiome plays a causal role in the development of pneumonia.

methodsOur study initially identified the genetic instruments in the gut microbiota GWAS across phylum, class, order, family, and genus levels. Pneumonia data were sourced from the open GWAS project of the Integrated Epidemiology Group (IEU). Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis employed several methods such as inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, and MR-Egger, with Cochran's Q were calculated to assess heterogeneity via IVW and MR-Egger. Additionally, MR-PRESSO and MR-Egger intercepts were utilized to mitigate horizontal pleiotropy. A retrospective case-control study collected anal swab samples from severe pneumonia patients on the 1st and 3rd days after ICU admission. Samples were analyzed using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) and PERMANOVA analysis.

resultsEleven potential causal relationships between the gut microbiome and pneumonia (critical care), as well as nine potential causal relationships between the gut microbiome and pneumonia (28-day death in critical care) were identified. By integrating the results of PERMANOVA analysis with Mendelian randomization analysis, we were able to determine a negative correlation between genus Akkermansia and lactate levels, as well as length of ICU days in patients with septic acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Moreover, we found a potential negative causal relationship between the genus Akkermansia and pneumonia (28-day death in critical care) (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.22-0.79, P = 0.007).

conclusionsOur Mendelian randomization analysis has provided evidence for a potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and pneumonia. Furthermore, we observed that the genus Akkermansia may decrease the risk of pneumonia (28-day death in critical care), as observed in septic ARDS patients which Akkermansia could reduce ICU days and lactate levels. These findings provide valuable insights into the gut-lung axis and have the latent to inform future research in this field.

trial registrationThe study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( https://www.chictr.org.cn/index.html , ChiCTR2300075450).

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomePneumoniaAgedCase-Control StudiesFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRNA, Ribosomal, 16SRNA, Ribosomal, 16SClinical validationGenus AkkermansiaGut microbiotaMendelian randomization analysisPneumonia

Identifiers

PMID41044486
PMCPMC12495658

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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.