Gut Microbial Metabolites and Future Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Metabolome-Wide Association Study

Abstract

Background: Alterations in gut microbiota are observed in Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies on microbiota-derived metabolites in PD were small-scale and post-diagnosis, raising concerns about reverse causality. Objectives: Our goal was to prospectively investigate the association between plasma microbial metabolites and PD risk within a metabolomics framework. Methods: A nested case–control study within the prospective EPIC4PD cohort, measured pre-diagnostic plasma microbial metabolites using untargeted metabolomics. Results: Thirteen microbial metabolites were identified nominally associated with PD risk (P-value < 0.05), including amino acids, bile acid, indoles, and hydroxy acid, although none remained significant after multiple testing correction. Three pathways were implicated in PD risk: valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, butanoate metabolism, and propanoate metabolism. PD-associated microbial pathways were more pronounced in men, smokers, and overweight/obese individuals. Conclusion: Changes in microbial metabolites may represent a pre-diagnostic feature of PD. We observed biologically plausible associations between microbial pathways and PD, potentially influenced by individual characteristics.