Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with specific gut microbiota species and functions in the population-based Swedish CardioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder. In animal models, OSA has been shown to alter the gut microbiota; however, little is known about such effects in humans. Here, we used respiratory polygraphy data from 3,570 individuals aged 50–64 from the Swedish CardioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) and deep shotgun metagenomics to identify OSA-associated gut microbiota features. We found that OSA-related hypoxia parameters were associated with 128 bacterial species, including positive associations with Blautia obeum and Collinsela aerofacines. The latter was also associated with increased systolic blood pressure. Further, the cumulative time in hypoxia was associated with nine gut microbiota metabolic pathways, including propionate production from lactate, a biomarker of hypoxia. In conclusion, in this first large-scale study on gut microbiota alterations in OSA, we found that OSA-related hypoxia is associated with specific microbiota features. Our findings can direct future research on microbiota-mediated health effects of OSA.