<em>Lachnospiraceae </em>Family at the Core of Diastolic Blood Pressure Control in Older Adults

Hypertension is the leading cause for cardiovascular disease with over 60% prevalence in older adults, its control is complex and requires multidisciplinary approaches. The gut microbiome has shown relevant associations with hypertension development and progression, with some specific bacteria showing potential to explain and improve hypertension. Control of high blood pressure has not been directly associated with the gut microbiome and given its high interindividual variability this relationship is not fully clear. The aim of this study was to characterize the gut microbiome of older adults and to identify bacteria associated with hypertension control. Patients were 60 years and older from Mexico City and the metropolitan area, all were receiving antihypertensive treatment, and donated a feces sample during a routine medical visit. DNA was extracted from 240 samples using a commercial kit, the V3/V4 region of the 16S gene was sequenced and metataxonomic analyses were performed using QIIME and R. Bacterial abundance identified a core microbiome for hypertensive older adults with a decreased diversity with increasing age, but that did not differ for hypertension control. A differential analysis indicated that Escherichia-Shigella increased with age, and that Ruminococcus UCG-002, DTU 089 and several bacteria from the Lachnospiraceae family were distinctively abundant according to hypertension control, with statistical significance for diastolic blood pressure. Our results confirm and expand previous reports on the core gut microbiome of older adults suggesting a abundance changes in fiber fermenting bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae family in uncontrolled hypertension.