Comprehensive Survey of Gut Microbiome Associations with Health Conditions in the Human Phenotype Project

Abstract

The human gut microbiome is increasingly implicated with diverse health conditions, highlighting the importance of developing comprehensive resources to systematically map these associations. In this study, we leveraged the Human Phenotype Project (HPP) 10K cohort, a large, deeply phenotyped population study cohort with extensive metagenomic profiling, to explore associations between the gut microbiome and 37 health indications. These include conditions with established or emerging links to the microbiome, such as obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, inflammation, liver disease, cardiovascular and kidney conditions, immune and allergic diseases, gastrointestinal symptoms, mental health, and sleep-related traits. Using a curated set of approximately 200 refined phenotypic features and analyzing 1,184 microbial species, we performed robust statistical association analyses. We observed significant enrichment of associations in 14 health indications, with most associations reflecting increased microbial abundance in favorable health states, thereby suggesting potential microbial targets for intervention. This work introduces a publicly available, high-resolution resource to facilitate future research and support the development of microbiome-informed health strategies.